It's a Classical Life

I have had both Homer's The Iliad  and Stephen Fry's Troy  sitting on my book shelf for a whole year. I haven't picked up either one to read yet because I'm not sure which one I should read first. Having read Homer's The Odyssey  whilst on leave in 2020 I know how much of a commitment these older classics can be. And I really didn't want to start it and not finish it. Thus, as 2021 progressed and my mental acuity diminished (does that happen to you also??), both The Iliad and Troy  sat untouched and unread.   Now, this problem may be unique to me, I'm not sure, but there is such a growing market for modern remakes and adaptations these days that I have to wonder about the originals. Are the modern remakes dumbing us down because too many people find the originals wordy or unaccessible? Do the originals really matter anymore? Do these modern adaptations honour the original, or should the authors bring a more modern flavour to the sto...

Part of my little Victorian literature collection I started this month on Instagram participating in what is lovingly called #victober. This tag celebrates the diverse and rich history, literature and society of the Victorian era during the month of October. I started the month by reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, then followed that with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (the latter is not technically a Victorian novel, but it is certainly imbued with many facets of Victorian ideals, values and social norms.) It has been a while since I have done a History post, and thought I would love to revisit Victorian Britain in a bit more detail here on the blog. I hope to explain here some of the history of this time that has influenced those books, artists and poets that we know and love from this time. There is a lot to love about this time, but there is also a lot that might shock or sadden our modern...

  Hello and welcome to It’s a Classical Life!  If this is your first time here, my name is Kirsty and I’m so glad you’re here to talk about all things classic, from the Ancient Greeks and Romans right up to the present day. We can draw our inspiration from classic literature, style, music and more so join us as we bring some timeless and enduring culture into our everyday lives. You may wonder, why study the classics? For me, studying the classics is part of a bigger whole – to be a lifelong learner. I am a trained History and World Languages teacher (ESL, Italian and Spanish) and have spent fifteen years studying and teaching topics I love from kindergarten to grade 12. In these days of our internet knowledge and ability to search for quick answers, becoming a lifelong learner is one of the best gifts you can give yourself and to your children. I can always tell those students who have grown up reading widely and reading well!  To be able to understand and assess how tho...

 The more classic books that I read, the more I am convinced that we should be looking to them for guidance and direction on how to proceed if we are keen to embark on a simple living journey. I have spoken of this before , but feel that I have more to add on the subject - this time using Mary Shelley's classic text Frankenstein as inspiration.  Without giving away too much of the plot, Victor Frankenstein is consumed with the idea of creating life. Through his studies at the university of Ingolstadt he is able to do this, but as soon as he does he is wracked with grief and regret. Much of the first volume of the novel is based around his process and subsequent emotional torment. In dealing with this, what does Frankenstein do? Does he flee to the city to be around people, shops, things, stuff? Does he seek the company of like-minded scientists or rush back to his family to promote or brag about his accomplishments? No to both of these.  Initially, Frankenstein sought so...

  At the moment my Instagram is filled with the lovely wintery snaps of books and Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere. Many of my favourite Bookstagrammers are from the North, but I am also seeing my favourite Australian Instagrammers sharing summer shots, garden shots and brilliant blue skies.  We are definitely entering summer and there is no denying that; I wanted to write a summer reading list, but really these books are such classics and can be read at any time of the year. Most of these books are on my summer reading list. I can't wait for the holidays to really begin on the 18th, when we can get away for a few days and begin the long, hot, break with rest, family and relaxation.  Here is my list for classical reading this summer. There are only 5 classics on the list, because summer should be full of other things as well!! 1. A Mid-Summer's Night Dream, William Shakespeare. I studied this play in high school drama class and I'm really keen to revisit it again th...

Crime fiction, and in particular Detective Fiction, is one of the most popular genres in modern literature. People are drawn to the clues, the methodical, logical steps taken by detectives and enjoy pitting their wits against the protagonist to guess "who dunnit" first. Even if people aren't fans of reading this popular and diverse genre, most will have heard of the most famous detectives: Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, and Hercule Poirot (the little man with the funny moustaches) and Miss Marple, both created by Agatha Christie. These three detectives are amongst the most famous, most adapted and most parodied characters in all literature. Yet how did two English writers create such famous characters, when 'detectives' as a form of police investigator weren't even introduced into the English consciousness until 1842? Read on for a little history lesson on the rise of detective fiction.  In his book,  "Murder in Print: A Guide to Two Cent...

As I write this, 170 vulnerable Australians are on flight from the UK to Darwin as part of a 'mercy flight' by the Australian government. These people are elderly, have health problems or are new mothers who were forced to have their babies overseas. They have been waiting for more than eight months to come home and many of them have bumped off other flights and forced to wait. I cannot imagine how they must be feeling, knowing that they are finally on their way home. To the safety and security of knowing that once there, everything will be alright. We feel so much safer on our 'own turf' so to speak, even if the sense of security is false. Being home gives us a feeling of security that cannot be shaken. I'm not saying that we must be in our own country of origin to feel 'at home'; that feeling can come from anywhere, no matter how many times we may have moved. I'm referring to that place that we consider in our hearts, to be home. As I finished reading ...

Some people were of the opinion that a sober and abstemious mode of living    considerably reduced the risk of infection. They therefore formed themselves into groups and lived in isolation from everyone else. Having withdrawn to a comfortable abode where there were no sick persons, they locked themselves in and settled down to a peaceable existence, consuming modest qualities of delicate foods and precious wines and avoiding all excesses. They refrained from speaking to outsiders, refused to receive news of the dead or the sick, and entertained themselves with music and whatever other amusements they were able to devise.                                                                                           ...