#dear lupin

Fancy that: Sherlock's Mark Gatiss also made an appearance on the night | Press night for “Dear Lupin” in London

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1. Dear Lupin...: Letters to a Wayward Son (Roger and Charlie Mortimer): I'm a sucker for letters, particularly when they've been written by real people rather than fictional characters (not that the letters of fictional characters couldn't be just as real). So when I read Nell's review of Dear Lupin (you may know her on tumblr as musearoundthefountain) I couldn't resist looking it up. The Amazon preview had me hooked, and while I didn't enjoy the rest of the book quite as much as I expected too, it was nonetheless a pretty good read. The letters are so hilariously sporadic that reads more like a novel than real life. Roger Mortimer is a wonderfully crotchety character, and his wry (and frequently self-deprecating) letters to his "wayward" son Charlie are a delightful glimpse into the (mis)adventures of one slightly eccentric English family. Part coming-of-age story and part comic brilliance, it's easy to see why Mortimer was so often asked to read his father's letters aloud to his friends and schoolmates. 2. Milton's God: I actually used a few chapters from this in a term paper last semester (I took a Milton course and it was one of the best decisions of my life). Unfortunately, due to the necessity of reading other pertinent sources, I didn't get the chance to finish those sections unrelated to my topic. I rediscovered the book a couple weeks ago while shelving a cart at work, and I'm very glad I grabbed it. Empson is, as the professor who taught my course so aptly put it, "a joy to read". He's smart, clearly loves his topic, and his oh-so-sassy commentary just makes the book. Plus it was written in the 1960s, so it's that delightfully British blend of academic and colloquial writing (resulting in such delightful phrases as "Milton blabbed"). Let me tell you: I'd be first in line to read a rewrite of Paradise Lost in the style of 1960s Britain. While I was most interested in the first two chapters, the entire book is a fun and fascinating read, and I would highly recommend it to fans of Milton and of Paradise Lost, as well as to those who just enjoy good literary criticism.