While the original theater burned down when the thatched roof caught fire during a performance in 1613, a new theater was built and opened by the following year (Carafano). His career within this company was highly successful as he had the support to write, produce, and publish several of his own works as well as perform on stage.įollowing his success, Shakespeare was able to afford to not only purchase a massive home for his family outside of London, but he also built his own theater, called the Globe Theater, a version of which still sits on the edge of the Thames River right in the heart of London. In 1590, Shakespeare and his family had moved to London where he worked for an acting company known first as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and later the King’s Men (in 1603 when King James 1 was crowned) (“William Shakespeare”). In 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway and had three children. William was one of six children born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, and he grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon (a busy town along the Avon River, about 100 miles from London) (“William Shakespeare”). Check out our in-depth analysis of all things Hamlet! William Shakespeare’s Childhood and AdulthoodĪ local church recorded William’s baptism as an infant, so historians have adopted April 23, 1564, as his birthdate (“William Shakespeare”).
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The cast of characters around protagonist Maren are wonderfully wrought – from the strong-willed Kirsten who takes charge after the disaster and later suffers the consequences, to Maren’s sister-in-law, the Sámi Diinna who is a new mother and facing prejudice because of her culture, and to the insufferably pious Toril who causes the downfall of those around her. The Mercies is full of beautiful descriptions of the power and horror of the sea, historical details about Christian and Sámi culture at this time, and a general feeling that something bad is going to happen.Īs I write my dissertation on ideas of women and landscapes, The Mercies fits perfectly into this category and I really loved Milgrave’s depictions of the harsh and remote landscape – and how reliant its inhabitants are on something they cannot control. The remaining women, including Maren, are left to fend for themselves – to battle starvation, each other, and the increasing suspicion that brought by the newly solidified Christian church. Set on the remote Norwegian island of Vardo in 1617, The Mercies follows the story of a village who in one fateful moment, loses all of its men at sea. The Mercies has been on my TBR pile for a while – with a brilliant title, an intriguing premise and a beautiful cover, I knew that I’d fall hook, line and sinker for Hargrave’s dark and atmospheric novel. Soon the cold hard winter arrives and before long the little family of mice are running short of supplies. His answer amazes them when he claims that he is collecting supplies of a different sort – sun rays for the cold dark days ahead, colours for the grey winter and words for the long days when they might run out of things to say. Not surprisingly, the other hard working mice are none too pleased so they challenge Frederick. Instead of working as hard as his brothers and sisters, he spends his days staring at the meadow seemingly half asleep. Frederick is the only mouse who seems to see things slightly differently though. However, by working hard night and day the little family look like they could collect enough to see them through the long hard winter. Unfortunately, the farmers have moved away meaning that there are not such rich pickings to collect for the winter. The story of Frederick starts by introducing a chatty family of field mice who live in a stone wall alongside a meadow not far from a barn and a granary. Is he just being extremely lazy or is he actually contributing in a different but equally helpful way? However, one field mouse, Frederick, doesn't seem to be doing any work. It's arduous work but as long as they all put their weight they should be ready. Summary: There is a family of field mice who work very hard all through Summer and Autumn getting ready for the long hard winter. |