When The Ink Black Heart was first identified as a possible title for the next Strike novel, it had one big disadvantage compared to ‘The Last Cries of Men’. Try as I might I could find no literary allusion worth it’s name. Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter and Texts & Traditions: Religion in Shakespeare, and Kurt Schreyer, Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Missouri, and author of Shakespeare’s Medieval Craft: Remnants of the Mysteries on the London Stage have written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post that not only offers a solution to this mystery, but potentially offers peak at a the story scaffold via Shakespearian epigraphs. After the break, read their elegant solution to the mystery of The Ink Black Heart.
Beatrice Groves and Kurt Schreyer – The Mystery of the Ink Black Heart
Roses from Rowling – What is the Marilyn Manson Connection?
On January 31st 2020 the American ‘Shock Rocker’ Marilyn Manson posted his thanks to J. K. Rowling for the surprise receipt of a gift – a bunch of red roses. Almost immediately comment and speculation about this bouquet from fans of both Rowling and Manson (and a surprising intersection of both) flooded the internet. Thoughts of the meaning behind the gift ran from the romantic to a possible source for the epigraphs in Troubled Blood. In the event Rowling’s marriage still seems secure, and the epigraphs in Troubled Blood turned out to be the far more satisfying Faerie Queene. This leaves fans of detective fiction, such as we, with a problem – we have a loose end. Join me after the jump to find out how, or if this loose end will resolve.
Rowling’s American Family
It may not be common knowledge but J. K. Rowling has close family who are American citizens – living in the USA and working in the creative arts and who have spoken publicly of their connection to the more famous J. K. Rowling.
They are her two Rowling cousins, the children of her father’s brother, who are pictured on the right with Joanne and Dianne. After the jump find out more about author and voice actress B. J. Rowling and her musician brother Ben.
The Christmas Pig and Old Rabbit
A few weeks ago, I saw a feature film called A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys as the journalist Lloyd Vogel [Tom Hood]. The film follows Vogel as he interviews Rogers for what was to become a very famous article in Esquire Magazine. I found the film extremely moving, largely for its exploration of what it is to be a child, from a remarkable man who never lost that ability. As an aside, Fred Rogers and the character of Mr Rogers was entirely unknown to me prior to this film (as I believe he is to most people in the UK).
Beatrice Groves: Unlocking Clues to The Christmas Pig
Beatrice Groves, Research Lecturer and tutor at Trinity College, Oxford, and author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter, has written a Hogwarts Professor Guest Post: What can link The Christmas Pig, Harry Potter, Nigel Molesworth and French butchers? As we wait for the publication day of The Christmas Pig, follow the trail of breadcrumbs Dr Groves has found after the jump…
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