Lessons We Learned From Re-reading Hamlet

Although it was required reading back in our school days, odds are most of us haven’t picked up a copy of Hamlet or headed out to see it performed in quite some time. We thought that was a situation we should remedy, and here’s what we learned from re-reading Hamlet:

We’re all taking “To thine own self be true” the wrong way. Although it’s a phrase often used in a positive light, Shakespeare intended it to be anything but. In fact, the bard placed those words in the mouth of Polonius, a self-serving windbag, and the phrase was intended to be ironic.

Hamlet had some serious commitment issues. Poor Ophelia. Hamlet’s young, naive, and ever faithful one-time flame didn’t deserve the horrendous treatment she received, and had Hamlet been able to make up his mind about his feelings for her she could have been spared from a whole world of hurt.

Sometimes you can’t count on your friends. You may think they’re always there for you, but once in a while your friends may have some ulterior motives in mind, and those motives may not work out so well for you. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to mind…

Women deserve a heck of a lot more respect. Poor Ophelia, again. Polonius more or less treated his daughter like property to be sold off in the marriage market. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon theme in many of Shakespeare’s plays.

Looking to catch up with the classics? Visit our online library at www.greatess.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

Incredibly Long Classics That Are Well Worth the Read

Sometimes you’re looking for a quick or easy read, something you can take with you on your daily commute or a companion on a short flight, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, however, you’re looking for a deep dive, a book you can really sink your teeth into and get to know over time. Here are two incredibly long classic novels that are so well worth getting better acquainted with.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

If you’re going to invest a considerable amount of time in any one novel, you definitely want it to be beautifully written, and that’s the case when it comes to Anna Karenina. Just how long is it? Well, depending on the translation you’re looking at a commitment of about 800 pages, likely a lot thicker than the average phone book some of us grew up with. Tolstoy spins the tale of a woman named Anna who leaves her family behind to pursue an affair with Count Vronsky, an army officer willing to satisfy her needs when her husband isn’t. The subsequent events may turn tragic, but are no less worthy of a good long read.

Ulysses by James Joyce.

One can anticipate that a reimagining of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey would require a certain amount of blank pages, but at 730 pages there’s no doubt it requires a bit of patience to get through as well. That said, the controversy surrounding the book is certainly enough to peak one’s curiosity, and Joyce is considered one of the most important and influential authors of the 20th century for a reason. Joyce’s reimagining of The Odyssey comes in the form of a chronicle of one single day in the life of an average Irish man, and it’s so worth reading every page it’s written on.

Looking for a deep dive into the classics? Visit our online library at www.greatess.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices.

The Classic Books Behind Audrey Hepburn Movies

Celebrated actress, style icon, WWII survivor, and philanthropist (the list goes on), there are few women celebrated as much for their inner self as their outward appearance as Audrey Hepburn. She starred in movies spanning four decades, and, following her acting career, dedicated her time to being a UNICEF ambassador.

It’s no wonder everyone loves Audrey Hepburn, so to celebrate this wonderful woman, we’re going to take a look at the books behind some of her most famous movies.

The Nun’s Story

This classic 1959 film sees Hepburn donning a nun’s habit and dealing with the many compromises that come from joining the religious order. The movie was a smash hit in its day, and continues to be one of the mid-20th Century’s most beloved films, but it was not an organic creation, as the screenplay was based on a book of the same name from 1956. Written by Katherine Hulme, the book itself was a bestseller, and was inspired in part by the author’s friend Marie Louise Habets.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s

Probably Hepburn’s most iconic movie is Breakfast At Tiffany’s, which tells the story of glamorous Holly Golightly as she attempts to navigate the social scene of 1940s New York, and takes a fancy to the handsome young man who has just moved into her building. The movie is based on a novella of the same name by Truman Capote, who created the unmistakable country girl-turned New York socialite character that we know and love today.

Want to read more classics from Audrey Hepburn’s era? Find classic eBooks, audiobooks and more at www.greatess.com.

The Many Boasts of Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was, without a doubt, one of the most important and influential authors of the 20th century, but he was also a very boastful man. Although many are unconfirmed or simply unverifiable, here are some of the many boasts Hemingway made throughout his storied life.

He befriended a bear. In a 1950 interview published in The New Yorker, Hemingway told staff writer Lillian Ross of a somewhat special relationship he had with a bear. Ross writes: “In Montana, once, he lived with a bear, and the bear slept with him, got drunk with him, and was a close friend.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald once asked Hemingway for help of an intimate nature. The Great Gatsby author was concerned about the size of… a part of his anatomy. Hemingway asked the author to follow him to the men’s room and upon inspection said (from A Moveable Feast): “‘You’re perfectly fine,’ I said. ‘You are OK. There’s nothing wrong with you. You look at yourself from above and you look foreshortened. Go over to the Louvre and look at the people in the statues and then go home and look at yourself in the mirror in profile.'”

He would finish the bar fights that James Joyce started. From Kenneth Schuyler Lynn’s book entitled Hemingway: “We would go out for a drink,” Hemingway told a reporter for Time magazine in the midfifties, “and Joyce would fall into a fight. He couldn’t even see the man so he’d say: ‘Deal with him, Hemingway! Deal with him!'”

Looking to get acquainted with the classics? Visit our online library at www.greatess.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more, accessible anytime from your favorite devices.

Fascinating Facts About F. Scott Fitzgerald

The author of such timeless classics as The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald has long since solidified his place in history as one of the most important and influential authors of the 20th century. Here are three fascinating facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald that you may not have known.

He was a terrible student. While Fitzgerald demonstrated a love of literature and a talent for writing at an early age, he was a terrible student, struggling to achieve passing marks both in grade school and in college. Fitzgerald nearly flunked out of Princeton, regularly cutting classes before abandoning his studies to join the military. Her was also a terrible speller, and may have suffered from dyslexia.

He nearly fought in World War I. Fitzgerald became a second lieutenant in the army after dropping out of Princeton, he was worried he would die in battle but the November 1918 armistice was signed shortly before his troupe was to be deployed.

He kept a detailed account of his life. Fitzgerald kept detailed records of his income and his published works, but also of his life, with month by month details of his activities since his birth, complete with everything from his first word to his height to falling in love.

Looking for more of the classics? Visit our online library at www.greatess.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more, accessible anytime from your favorite devices.

Interesting Stories Surrounding Some of the Classics

There’s no shortage of interesting and intriguing stories from the literary world, here are three interesting stories about some of our best loved books and authors.

Could you point it out on a map? Bram Stoker’s Dracula set the standard when it comes to the interpretation of the modern vampire. Although partially set in Transylvania, a mountainous region in central Romania, Stoker, an Irish author, had never in fact visited Romania or any other part of Eastern Europe.

An interesting interpretation. Written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, the original version of Beauty and the Beast was published 1740 in La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins (The Young American and Marine Tales). While Disney may have turned it into a magical tale of finding beauty and true love in the most unexpected of places, it was in fact written in order to encourage girls to accept arranged marriages, or as children’s literature academic Maria Tatar puts it, to accept “an alliance that required effacing their own desires and submitting to the will of a monster.”

Dahl, Roald Dahl. Before his career as the author of such beloved children’s books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl served as a spy for the British Security Coordination during World War II. Somewhat of a James Bond-esque agent, Dahl gathered intelligence for the British while using his charm to seduce society ladies, possibly for his own leisure.

Looking for more of the classics? Visit our online library at www.greatess.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more.

A Christmas Carol: How it has been reimagined over the years

There are few more classic stories associated with Christmas than the iconic seasonal tale from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge has become part of the festive folklore since the novel was first published in 1843. Dickins originally gave the book the subtitle of ‘A Ghost Story of Christmas’ referring to the supernatural happenings which Scrooge experiences.

By now, it is such as well-worn cautionary tale that had been reimagined and reinvented in hundreds of different ways. It has made into a stage play, a TV show and countless movies over the years. Here are just a few of the works which have been influenced by Dickens’s classic novel.

Scrooge (1951)

There had been a few attempts at bringing the tale to the silver screen, but many were unremarkable. This 1951 movie which was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and had actor Alastair Sim in the title role. The movie was given the title of A Christmas Carol on its release in the US, where it received a mixed reception at movie theaters, although it would go on to be a firm favorite as a holiday rerun on television in the 1950s and 60s.

Scrooge (1970)

This was a musical version of the story starring Albert Finney, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the miserly businessman. It also received four Academy Award nominations. The movie musical would later go on to be adapted for stage and featured many of the original songs.

The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)

Perhaps the most widely watched and enjoyed version in recent times. Michael Caine plays Scrooge and Kermit the Frog is his downtrodden employee Bob Cratchett. Feature the Muppets’ wacky humor, a number of memorable moments and some catchy tunes, it is a firm festive family favorite.

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The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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