The topic of John Steinbeck's final novel is amazingly acute today although it was first published more than fifty years ago... it's a novel revolving around morals in a money-centred modern world.

The Winter of Our Discontent is the story of a good and honest man who finds his morals corrupted by the requirements and habits of post-war America where virtually everything seems permitted to achieve financial wealth and social status. The protagonist clings to his high moral standards passed on to him by his forefathers, but his family's yearning for wealth and prestige forces him to think over his attitude and thus plunges him into a deep inner conflict.

I invite you to follow the link and read my long review on my main book blog Edith's Miscellany or its duplicate on Read the Nobels!

Mansfield Park With David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch. OK. I would have a listen.

I’ve been reading more classics of late, a few of them originally written in non-anglophone languages. But every time I settle on which to read, the wading begins. Sifting through my options, going through the process of elimination by scanning reviews and sampling the writing on Amazon. It’s exhausting.

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Bestiality. Kidnapping. Mugging. Ye olde carjacking. Burglary. Assault. Murder. Female paedophiles. Incest. Male rape. Adultery. Animal cruelty. Serial killers in the making. Poisonings.Homosexual priest gangbangs. Shapeshifting. Gods and goddesses. The Seven Deadly Sins. Evil mother-in-laws. Drama. Comedy. Tragedy. Adventure. Romance. Horror. Urban legends. Stories within stories. Inspiration for that Hannibal episode where a person was sewn into a dead horse’s belly.

What doesn’t The Golden Ass have?

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Neatorama had an article up about Margery Kempe - thought to be the oldest autobiography in English. I read it once for a medieval literature class. Kempe has some oddly sexual ideas about Jesus Christ...but it its a very interesting read to see the life of someone from the time of Chaucer, and a woman to boot!