Sad, So Very Sad: The Ink-Black Heart’s Connections to Victorian Cemetery Art and Mourning Customs

The Ink Black Heart by Robert GalbraithHappy October! Although some of us are pretty spooky all year ‘round, and the Hobby Lobby has had pumpkins out on shelves since July 5, there is just something about the beginning of October that puts us in the mood for all things Halloween, from stocking up on Frankenberry cereal to watching Linus rolling in the pumpkin for Lucy to kill it once again.

So it seems quite appropriate that we take a few moments today to look at the way in which our latest Strike installment draws upon traditional Victorian mourning customs and cemetery art in this appropriately Gothic tale of a murder that takes place in a cemetery because of a cartoon set in a cemetery. It’s a topic with plenty of motifs that are currently adorning the yards and homes of otherwise respectable people during the traditional season of spooky, so grab your walking shoes and mourning armband, and let’s take a stroll through the cemetery to uncover some Victorian traditions and motifs that wander through The Ink Black Heart.

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Capturing Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle

This past July, while I was in Orlando for Leaky-Con and visiting family, my mother-in-law and I partook of one of our favorite activities: thrift store shopping. She knows all the best spots, and we always find great bargains and have a blast. While I was browsing the books, I spotted one I have only ever seen on the virtual shelf on J.K. Rowling’s pre-Pottermore website: Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle. It’s a fairly well-handled edition, but it was practically free, and I decided I wanted to see why Rowling has always declared the novel’s narrator to be one of the “most charismatic” of any in any novel. I recently finally got around to reading it, so I thought I’d share a few of my insights, and see if those of you who have also read the book will post your thoughts as well!
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Hogwarts Coming to a Kindle near you?

For those of you who have been captured by the e-book craze, the sheer number of books available in this format is rivaled only by the books that are not available, or at least, which haven’t been available yet. Though we may enjoy Harry Potter’s adventures via audiobook, they have not yet been released to the e-reader crowd. J.K. Rowling now appears to be considering the possibility of releasing our favorite wizard to the e-book world. In this article, she is described as exhibiting some interest in the electronic market. While some of us may have loved the fact that our shared text could only be read on a printed page, others may be thrilled that we can take all seven books with us on airplane (really, if I could have any one object from the Wizarding World, it would be Hermione’s purse/self-storage unit, but I still like “real” books). What are your thoughts on the potential e-book release of the Hogwarts Adventures? Are you howling in indignation, laughing with delight, or scratching your head wondering what all the fuss is about?

Deleted Scene to Whet Appetites for Deathly Hallows: Pt. 1 DVD out April 15

April 15 is usually a day to strike fear in the hearts of Americans. If the IRS doesn’t scare you (and really, those folks always look like Death Eaters in my imagination), maybe Voldemort will! So the movie folks are releasing the DVD of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on that resonant date. If your tax woes are few (or so bad you need an escape), April 15 is looking like a good movie night (I’m looking forward to the big-screen release of The Conspirator that same day)! In anticipation of the big release, here is a sneak preview of a deleted scene (with embedded version after the jump).

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