At last, the waiting’s over. Peaky Blinders is back, and on BBC One, too. Was it worth hanging on for? Katherine Clements reviews Season 5 for Historia.
Review: Emily Brontë Reappraised by Claire O’Callaghan
On the bicentenary of Emily Brontë’s birth, Katherine Clements reviews a new ‘biography with a twist’. Emily, the elusive Brontë sister, is often portrayed as antisocial, difficult, perhaps even slightly unhinged. Two centuries of Brontë scholarship have created an inscrutable image of this singular woman; Emily as enigma has become integral to Brontë myth making. […]
Historia Interviews: Michael Stewart
Katherine Clements talks to author Michael Stewart. Creating a fresh take on a much-loved classic is a challenge for any writer. The novels of the Brontës have inspired spin-offs, homages and countless pastiches, some more successful than others. Now adding to this oeuvre is Michael Stewart, whose novel Ill Will, the untold story of Heathcliff’s […]
Review: Making Thunder Roar at the Brontë Parsonage Museum
Katherine Clements visits the new exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth. Emily Brontë is the most elusive of the famous Brontë siblings. We know little about her, beyond her propensity for solitude, her preference for simple domestic life and her love of the moorland landscape surrounding the Haworth Parsonage where she spent most of her […]
The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford
Elizabeth Gifford’s debut novel, Secrets of the Sea House, was a sweeping, beautiful work, imbued with myth and mystery; it was shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown award in 2014 and was one of my personal favourites that year. Gifford is a talented writer with the ability to create satisfying stories and haunting atmosphere from […]
Historia Interviews: Bettany Hughes
Katherine Clements speaks to Bettany Hughes about women in history, gender equality and her love affair with Istanbul. ‘When I very first went into the BBC a producer said, “Nobody wants to be lectured at by a woman”.’ 25 years, 3 books and 250 million viewers later, I think it’s safe to say, that producer was […]
The Best Costume Dramas for Christmas
Katherine Clements picks the best costume drama to watch over the festive season. The Crown (Netflix, from 8th December) When The Crown first aired last year it was much hyped as the most expensive TV series ever made. I doubted whether a show about our current royals would live up to such grand claims. I was […]
Review: Peaky Blinders, Season 4, Episode 1
‘We’re going back … back to Small Heath,’ says a blood-spattered Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), in the opening episode of Peaky Blinders, Season 4. ‘Back where you belong,’ replies Johnny Dogs (Packy Lee) – he knows, as do we, that Tommy can’t escape his roots. Season 3 of Peaky Blinders was about Tommy’s attempt to […]