Is it really the case, for example, that Greek tragedy has a unique power to ‘say the unsayable’, as the contributors repeatedly suggest? When Hall writes of Bobby Kennedy’s speech that ‘only Aeschylus would do’, why does she think that a carefully chosen quote from Shakespeare, say, would have done Kennedy’s job any less well? It would have been useful, in fact, to see some discussion of how the fate of the Bard (who has his own honourable record as a vehicle for political dissent all over the world) differs from that of Greek tragedy. It would even have been useful to get a glimpse of some opposition to the current theatrical enthusiasm for all things Hellenic. What of the argument, for example, that ancient tragedy is more the problem than the solution, and that part of the reason why Western culture deals so ineffectively with the horrors of war, or the inequalities of gender, is that it cannot think through these issues outside the frame established in Athens more than two millennia ago? And what of the argument, rather briefly skated over by Lorna Hardwick in her essay on post-colonialism, that performances of the Bacchae in Cameroon or Antigone in South Africa – far from being politically empowering interventions – in fact represent the ultimate victory of the colonial power. Native culture may throw out its political overlords, but it is still left performing their damned plays.

This is from the article "Only Aeschylus Will Do", which, as I am approaching the end of the book, is proving an excellent bridge to my upcoming reading project about the Classical world.

It also poses interesting questions about cultural imperialism, and how insidious it is. Beard poses the question of whether a quote by Shakespeare could not have had the same effect. But to what extent is using Shakespeare not just another example of the same cultural imperialism?

It's a rhetorical question more than anything, but the mention made me think.

I'm really enjoying this even if it is not at all what I expected. Essentially, this book is a collection of articles and book reviews that Beard wrote, which address some of the personalities or aspects of the classical world, but mostly focus on the difficulty posed to historians, archaeologists, biographers etc. in interpreting and explaining what people and life was really like in the classical world.

Still, I love the way that Beard dissects some of our modern images of Ancient Greece and Rome, and traces some of the trends and themes that seem to be recurring attitudes.

"As Tacitus, and other ancient writers recognised, historians are by definition excluded from the decision-making that takes place behind the closed doors of an autocracy.

   Women close to the man in power may, of course, capitalise on that proximity to promote their own interests. At the same time, they also provide the analyst with a handy – and untestable – explanation of why the man acts as he does. Just as the modern press has found Nancy Reagan or Cherie Blair convenient explanatory tools, when all else fails, in accounting for their husbands’ policy decisions, so ancient historians could always fall back on Livia or other imperial women when it came to making sense of the vagaries of the emperor’s actions. There is no way of telling if they were right. Charges of poisoning are a particularly loaded example of just this problem. Women – from Livia through Lucretia Borgia to Harriet Vane – have always been victims of accusations of this type (a typically sly female crime, and a neat perversion of the woman’s role as cook and housekeeper). But who could tell whether a poisoned mushroom was really that, or just an innocently unrecognised toadstool? And should we always assume that sudden deaths were brought about by those who ultimately benefited from them? Such assumptions produce tidy history, but they may not be correct."

I'm particularly entertained at the moment by Beard taking apart I, Claudius, and pointing out the extent of the creative licence that was taken with the book and, even more so, the BBC series. 

It just comes back to this: TV series and historical fiction are great for getting people interested in history etc., but they must not be mistaken for fact.

I'm really rather enjoying these articles. 

Beard oil is one of the most important tools in man cosmetic product. Cosmetic products need extra care. Growing generation have craze of bulky beard and healthy beard. That’s why they use beard oil. By looking craze of young generation many companies are producing beard oil. Beard oil, shampoo and balm are the part of your growing beard. You can boost your product by availing the best quality of packaging custom beard oil boxes. Custom packaging highlights all the necessary ingredients that are uses in beard oil, which help the customer to make the first choice.

Custom packaging have different shapes of boxes as rectangular, tube and cubical. And custom packaging beard oil boxes gives your product extra care. We design the stylish and window style beard oil boxes. Custom packaging knows that cosmetic product need charming representation which attract the customer towards the product most. Many customers buy a product because of just new and charming color full packaging. Packaging play vital role in the seller of your product.

Custom beard oil boxes have brilliant designers in the collection of packaging. Best printing on your custom beard oil boxes help your brand to huge among all the other brands in market and our designers are here to give you the best opportunity. You can gain the printed custom beard oil boxes from on which you can print your brand logo, brand name, instruction, procedure how to apply. Custom beard oil boxes provide you best and careful packaging in cheap prizes. Choose custom beard oil boxes to challenges your competitors in market. Our creativity help you the most to beat this competitors. We care all your need and requirements such as protection of your product, color tones and composition of beard oil.

 Manufactured by strong material ours unyielding boxes in small sizes can hold large quantity of your beard oil. In the cosmetic industry people can attract by the quantity of product rather than the quality. Mostly cosmetic product can be sales just because of eye-catching and attracting packaging.

Now a day’s custom packaging has many options in printing and exciting custom beard oil boxes and we keep the product save and damaged free because of we use superior material in packaging. Attractive custom beard oil boxes can help you most to maximize the sale of your product. We help you in stand of your product in market with custom design, unique opening and closing function. If in your mind have an idea of packaging then tell us, our talented designer turn it into reality.

Reference:

https://packagingninjas.blogspot.com/2020/03/get-custom-beard-oil-boxes.html

Having finished three underwhelming books in a row, I need something good.

While I will also pick up Woolf's A Room of One's Own (in celebration of having my flat back after the window-fitting has finished) and have high hopes for that one, I'm also hankering for some reads about Ancient Greece and Rome.

I'll leave it to your opinion whether this was inspired by starting to read Mary Beard's Confronting the Classics, but let's say that I've had a lot of fun spending time in Ancient Greece last August and have been wanting to embark on a similar project for some time. 

So, while I'm getting an introduction to the Classics provided by Mary Beard, I'll kick off the project on the Ides of March with a read of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar followed by as many of the listed titles I can get to all the way through April. 

And as many of these are also on my physical shelves, this should tie in nicely with my 2020 Mt. TBR Project.

Readers of Kill the Farm Boy (the first installment in the Tales of Pell trilogy) may have been wondering about what happened to Princess Aurora/Snow White-esque figure, Princess Harkovitra^*. Well, she wakes up, and finds herself in the position she's always wanted—a chance to start over. She leaves her name and home behind, hitching a ride with our old acquaintance Morvin on his way to start a new life himself.

^*Then again, maybe you're like me, and figured she was like Worstely and that her only purpose was to kick-start the novel and hadn't thought of her since.

They're not the only ones looking for a new start. We also meet a swole centaur prone to over-compensation, seeks to reach a mystic temple that will heal him of (what he considers) his emasculating magical abilities. A pariah elf is looking for the opportunity to do something more meaningful than swindle tourists. And we also pick up with one of the newly liberated dryads from No Country for Old Gnomes, who needs a way to get to her chosen law school, Bogtorts.

All of these new starts require the characters to travel somewhere inaccessible to foot/horse/carriage traffic. Enter the Clean Pirate Luc (a.k.a. Filthy Lucre), who happens to be a one-eyed talking parrot. He needs new crew members and is willing to let these travel to their intended destinations in exchange for labor. Even if the result is something incongruous, like a centaur swabbing the decks (thankfully, that's a funny image—a great thing for a comedic fantasy). Except for Morvin, who has other plans that involve less of the high seas.

The pirate ship ends up being just the thing to take our characters from quick adventure to quick adventure, creating opportunities for bonding and character growth. It's different enough from the land-based pilgrimages of the past two novels to keep things feeling fresh, while allowing the same kind of vibe to permeate the book. I'm not the biggest fan of pirate/ship-based adventures, but when they're done well, they are a lot of fun. And who doesn't like a good Melville-based joke (or several)?

Not just Melville-based jokes, but there's more than a couple of The Princess Bride riffs (in case the title didn't tip you off). Which seems timely, given the resurgence in interest in William Goldman's classic thanks to some nonsense about remaking the movie. I could be wrong, but this seems to be the jokiest of the three (I'm pretty sure my notes/list of great lines is longer than normal). Not that the others were joke-light, but this seems more focused on them and less focused on the story. Which makes it less successful as a novel in my opinion. But that's in comparison to two really strong and effective novels, so I'm not saying it's not a good read—it's just a not-as-good-as-I-wanted read. If this was the first Pell book I'd read, I'd rush out to get the others (particularly, if a charming and insightful blogger had said the others were better than this one). I started chuckling within a page and didn't finish until the end. Sometimes I did more than chuckle.

I'm not complaining a bit about the number of jokes, the character names alone are hilarious and make the book worth reading. It just takes away some of the impact of the story and the characters—or it distracted the authors from making them as compelling as they could have been. It's kind of a chicken vs. egg thing.

Each of these characters gets an opportunity to find themselves, find their inner-strength, true desires, real self—whatever you want to call it. It turns out that some of them were right all along, and others just needed the fresh perspective that extreme circumstances can bring.

I didn't connect with this one as much as I did the ones before, ditto for any of the characters. But I expect that my experience isn't typical—The Princess Beard will resonate with some more than the others did. Either way, the reader will enjoy the ride. It's exciting, it's affirming, it's a hoot.

I'm going to miss Pell, and hope the authors decide to dip their collective toes back into the land from time to time in the future. If not, at least we get the beginnings for these beautiful friendships.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this entertaining romp.