"The Taming of the Shrew" is one Shakespeare's finest comedic efforts. It is the tale of Lucentio who is in love with Bianca, unfortunately Bianca already has two other suitors and her father will not let her marry until her older ill-tempered sister, Katherine, is married. The second problem is remedied when Petruchio comes to town in search of a wife. Only interested in her money, Petruchio marries Katherine and returns with her to his country house to "tame" her, a task that Petruchio is soon to discover is easier said than done
Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl is the latest in Hogarth’s series of Shakespearean classics retold by contemporary authors. With Vinegar Girl, Tyler (The Amateur Marriage) gives us her take on that classic tale of dating disagreeably, The Taming of the Shrew.
Have you just finished a book that left you feeling wiped out? Was it marathon-length? Heartbreaking? Heavy on advice? As deep and dense as the Bavarian forest? Or just plain terrifying? Well, then: here are some antidotes to your condition. Consider these reads palate cleansers: they’ll get you back off your feet and into a […]
Sometimes a book comes along that makes you stop and say, “Geez, this author must have done a crazy amount of research.” Like Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Marriage Plot (all that yeast!) or Annie Proulx’s The Shipping News (all those knots!). Gifted writers can supply an enormous amount of technical information seamlessly and without making it feel […]
Ever since Petruchio and Katherina sparred in The Taming of the Shrew, and Mr. Darcy enraged Elizabeth Bennett before winning her heart in Pride and Prejudice, readers have craved romances in which the main characters start out with less-than-fuzzy feelings for each other. Gnash’s 2016 song (“I hate you / I love you / I […]