the early modern
I am recommending two works to see/read in this festive season; well, they are not really the most cheerful subjects you can find for the indulgent souls at this time of the year. Go and see Mary Stuart: the play is well-written, and the acting is superb. I especially liked the Leceister character and the tricky court politics. Also noticed that Queen Elizabeth I's black-and-gold costume fabric is a bit oriental, something you'd see on a Qing Dynasty Empress. The other one is Bennett's Havoc, in Its Third Year. Once I turned to the first page I could not put it down. This is the first time I came across a contemporary writer who has set his story in the 1630s. Unlike the texts published in Caroline England and the scholarship I've read of the period, this time I strongly felt that the Renaissance man was speaking to me, and I was willing to believe that this was indeed his spiritual mindset. This was an age that heavily debated who was walking in true faith. That was then and this is now: Bennett was also involved in the scriptwriting of The Hamburg Cell, a fictionalised story of the 911 hijackers.