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Jon Connell's visit to Winchester College
The irrepressible Professor John Sutherland and I visited Winchester College last week, having accepted an invitation from Richard Stillman, the Head of English, to visit the school and talk about Connell Guides. John showed his customary skill in engaging the students using his extraordinary breadth of knowledge to discourse amusingly not just on Hamlet (as we’d planned to do) but also on King Lear and Jane Eyre – firing questions at the students who fielded them with aplomb.
How Gatsby Became Great
Last year marked the 90th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. Yet back in the 1920s, few would have expected its appeal to last so long. On publication it met with a glut of hostile reviews, sold poorly, and by the time Fitzgerald died in 1940, was practically forgotten. It was only at the end of the 1950s that a gradual build-up of enthusiasm finally secured Gatsby's place as a modern classic, widely anthologised and soon incorporated into American school curricula.
Amis and McEwan on Writing
In a joint interview, Martin Amis and Ian McEwan discuss their writing in The Daily Telegraph. We all feel the pressure of time more these days, says Amis, “and for a very good reason. There’s been an acceleration in one event following the other in our modern world, and writing reflects that… the arrow of plot and development has to be much sharper than it used to be. The great wallowing baggy monster where you follow various digressions – that’s gone, too.”
The daffodils that inspired Wordsworth
Fictional justice
What would happen to the villains of children’s literature nowadays if the Crown Prosecution Service were able to make the mud stick? The Times consulted the Ministry of Justice…
Did Shakespeare really retire to Stratford?
Shakespeare abandoned London and retired to Stratford in about 1610. That’s what historians and Shakespeare experts have been telling us for 300 years. But is it true? Writing in theTimes Literary Supplement, the Shakespeare scholar Katherine Duncan-Jones suggests that it is not. In a dramatic overturning of received wisdom about the Bard, she supplies evidence that he may have remained in London long after 1610 – and didn’t retire to Stratford until shortly before he died.
Literary maps
In his book Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, Peter Turchi argues that the relationship between literature and map-making has been unfairly overlooked, and that it may offer scholars a new lens for literary analysis.
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Testimonials
“These books are testament to the phrase “Big things come in small packages”. Like the little door in Alice, these little books will open youngsters and oldersters to wide wonderlands of the classics. As with The Week, Connell has the gift of making the daunting and overwhelming accessible and digestible. Yipee!”
Helena Bonham Carter, Actress
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“What Connell Guides do is bring immediacy a
nd clarity: brevity with depth. They unlock the complex and offer students an entry route.”
Colin Hall, Head of Holland Park School
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“Clear, elegant and authoritative guides – worthy of the great masterpieces they analyse.”
Robert Harris
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“For years I’ve struggled to find a way to help students understand set texts and what critics say about them. I genuinely think Connell Guides solve the problem.”
James Wilton, Head of English, Repton School
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“Romeo and Juliet is as inspiring to read as it is to watch. This guide illuminates the text without losing any of the passion and is essential reading for all Shakespeare students.”
Dame Judi Dench, Actress
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“Critically astute and interesting. So much has been written on these texts, but, in my experience, never so effectively, so lucidly.”
Chris Radmann, Head of English, Lord Wandsworth School
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“The perfect introduction to The Tempest.”
Sir Peter Hall, Founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company
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“These guides are an invaluable resource for both teachers and students as they provide a range of authoritative critical perspectives which a stimulating and enjoyable to read. They provide an experience of critical reading which is both refreshing and illuminating.”
Henry Jeckel, English Teacher, Dame Alice Owen School
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“Completely brilliant. I wish I were young again with these by my side. It’s like being in a room with marvellous tutors. You can’t really afford to be without them, and they are a joy to read.”
Joanna Lumley, Actress
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"Absolutely superb, really helpful for students and the subscription is a very good resource. And I love the Ten facts - they can be so random!"
Teresa Cheyne, Newstead Wood School
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“The Connell Guides are brief, attractive, erudite, and to the point. Bravo!”
Sir Tom Stoppard, Playwright
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“I despaired of using study guides in the past but the Connell Guides have managed to present dense and complex texts in simple language. They simplify an enormous amount of work for the teachers as everything is there to draw from in easy to read bitesize chunks.”
Maz Campbell, English and Drama teacher, Elizabeth College, Guernsey
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“What fantastic guides these are – I wish I’d had them when I was eighteen.”
Emma Thompson, Actress
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“The exact requirements for our A level specification.”
Joan Veale, Head of English, Torquay Boys’ Grammar School
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“Connell Guides should be required reading in every school in the country.”
Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey
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“Exceptionally well written, genuinely illuminating without sacrificing complexity to clarity, and beautifully produced.”
Kiernan Ryan, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of London
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“A perfectly concise, read-in-a-single-sitting guide to this tragic masterpiece.”
Richard E. Grant (on the Connell Guide to King Lear)
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“Original and clear with lots of very helpful resources for teachers.”
Rose Fletcher, Wilson’s School
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“I think this is a wonderful and useful series and I highly recommend it.”
Claire Tomalin, Writer
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“I haven’t come across any other books that meet this need in quite such a useful way.”
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“If you want to understand great literature, these guides are perfect.”
Rupert Everett, Actor
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“Really useful, concise notes on the play. Fantastic for A level preparation as it gives an overview of the play as well as lots of insightful interpretations on characters and lots of contextual information. A quick read and a fantastic way to revise the play quickly. Not too complex, so a relaxing read too!”
A Level Student
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"A pocket-sized cornucopia of literary secrets with beautiful illustrations.”
Isabella McDonnell, A Level Student
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“I think these guides are incredibly useful – I really like the format, which makes sure every idea is clear and easy to learn.”
Tamara Prenn, A Level Student
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“This guide was so helpful for my revision, its easy to understand, and the poetic language made it a unique read.”
Saba Sams, A Level Student
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