pumpkinstrokemarrow

Along the way we learned a bit more about how to work the DVD remote. We have been reminded that they work better with newer batteries and we can now, reasonably reliably, turn the subtitles off without turning the whole thing off. A feature of these particular DVDs being a tendency to turn the subtitles on when moving from one episode to another.

The show itself not bad. A reasonable take. But like Austen adaptations, a tendency to move the gentry into bigger houses and everybody else into smaller houses and a tendency generally to heighten the tones and colours. More important, moved to read the book again, something I have not done for a while. About 800 pages in my edition so the adaptor is getting about 3 pages to the minute; a rather different proposition to the 3 minutes to the page achieved by adaptors of Agatha Christie stories. It is hardly surprising that so much gets left out, that the texture of the thing is rather flattened. I had forgotten what a dense read the book is, which sometimes leaves me floundering for what it is she is trying to say - and also that the lady had quite a sense of humour; humour which is mostly lost in translation. I had also forgotten that she rather thoughtfully manages a walk on part for one Dr. Toller. Did she know some not so distant relative? Nuneaton is not that far from Gamlingay. Moved to wonder about what her partner, George Lewes, made of all the scenes involving amateur scientists, with his tendency to dabble in natural history and such like. The scenes are not unkind, but they are not particularly flattering either.

Moved to wonder also, probably not for the first time, about her relationship with Tolstoy. She does not get a mention in my standard biog. of Tolstoy, but Tolstoy gets a mention in my standard biog. of her. It seems that Tolstoy read 'Adam Bede' and was much impressed. I learned also that 'Middlemarch' was,very roughly speaking, written between 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. It seems entirely appropriate that one of the greatest English novels should rub up against two of the greatest Russian ones in this way.

And a little while ago I suggested that doing good quality jigsaws of good quality pictures would be a good way of getting art students to look at said pictures. It now occurs to me that getting students of literature to write TV adaptations of good quality novels would be good way of getting them to actually read the things. A up to date variant on the usual essay.

By way of a break, visited the Epsom Library book sale today, a book sale focussed on their cull of the art and collectibles sections - resulting in pots of books about pots and porcelain going cheap. My eye was caught by a four volume 'Lives of the Painters' by one John Canaday at £10 - a bit strong compared with the non arty stuff which was mostly going for 20p a pop. Wound up buying the thing.

In the course of the same break, bought 13 crabs' legs for exactly the same sum, £10. Get home to find that I have bought 2lbs 1oz of crab and 8lbs 3oz of book. An aperçu on the relative values at the beginning of the third millennium. How hard would it be to plot the relationship over time? Google's contribution is the fact that I could buy the same book through him at prices varying from £5 to $250. But there are clearly a lot of them about so I guess the thing is a respectable read.

PS: I note from today's Guardian that the sons of Bin Liner are following the well established, if irritating, tradition of terrorists whining about the forces of law and order (or of Satan, depending on your point of view) being a little relaxed about the letter of the law.