The nights might be dark and the weather grim but there will be something to look forward to in November this year. Anthony Horowitz will be releasing his new novel The House of Silk. Horowitz picks up the story of Britain’s greatest detective a year after his death. Narrated by Holmes’ trusted sidekick, Dr Watson, we are promised to discover an adventure ‘too shocking to reveal till now’
Award winning author, Horowitz was chosen by the Conan Doyle estate to write the novel after his experience with some other famous decetives, such as Foyel’s War and new adaptations of Agatha Christie’s, Hercule Poirot. This is the first time the Conan Doyle estate has given the seal of approval for a new novel so it is sure to be a good one. Watch the book trailer to see Horowitz read from the book.
If nothing else, the BBC is renowned, world over, for their engaging and sumptuous drama productions. They were, after all, the ones who brought Colin Firth to our screens as Mr Darcy. Enough said I think.
So what other novels have the BBC been picking from the book shelves to entertain us this year? A good dowsing of Period Dramas are always a welcome edition to the (cough) talent (cough) shows. We have already enjoyed the harsh realities of life in post war South Riding and the edgy Victorian, The Crimson Petal and the White.
Following the success of previous dramatisations of Sarah Waters’ bestsellers (Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith) the BBC return to the author’s back catalogue for Night Watch. A story of survival in 1940s London starring Anna Maxwell-Marting (South Riding, Bleak House) as ambulance driver, Kay Langrish.
Moving to the classics we will be treated to not one but two Dickens’s adaptations this year. The ambitious dramatisation of Edwin Drood will have Dickens’s fans poised at the ready waiting to see how writer, Gwyneth Hughes, will complete Dickens’ final and incomplete novel for BBC4.
Less exciting, yet sure to be still appreciated, the BBC are turning to Great Expectations with a brand new version, little over a decade since the last production staring Ioan Gruffedd and Justine Waddell aired. Its a wonder why the BBC are trying to improve on perfection especially when there are so many ‘Classic Novel’ treasures crying out for their chance to be adapted. Scheduled for Christmas, it will certainly bring in the viewers and since it is the time of ‘good will’ and repeats for TV, it won’t be completely out of place.
Time for something brand new with Case Histories adapted from Kate Atkinson’s bestseller of the same title. Jackson Brodie, a private detective, solves murders and mysteries long since abandoned from the 70s. With intertwining plots and engaging characters this will no doubt be a huge hit for fans and those not familiar yet with Atkinson’s work.
Although there hasn’t been much information released yet regarding the upcoming adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s Birdsong you’ll no doubt hear a big ‘about time too’ from fans of the book after its release back in 1993 with talks of film versions constantly falling through since. Eddie Redmayne (The Other Boleyn Girl) and French actress Clemence Poesy (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) will take the leads of Stephen and Isabelle in this World War One epic. Tissues at the ready, you have been warned!
Overall it looks an exciting year from the BBC Drama department and if you can’t wait for the productions themselves then get stuck into one of the books today. The difficulty being which one will you read first?
Another adaptation of Jane Eyre will be gracing the big screens this March with Mia Wasikowska taking the lead role in Charlotte Bronte’s dark love story alongside Michael Fassbender as the troubled Mr Rochester. Director Cary Fukunaga has explored the story’s darker side and from the trailer it looks like it will be an exceptional adaptation showing that Bronte wrote more than just a love story.
Tell us what you think of the trailer in the comments below and if you haven’t got a copy of the book yet click on the cover to get this beautiful edition of this classic.
Watch the new exciting trailer of Water for Elephants adapted from this year’s New York Bestseller by Sara Gruen. Due out in April 2011 fans of the book will see Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattison star as Marlena and Jacob. Watch the trailer below and click on the cover if you haven’t yet picked up this wonderful novel of love, depression and the circus.
We’ve had Vampires, and we’ve had witches and with hunts. Today it is the turn of ghosts, silent and terrifying, we are never quite sure if they are a fragment of our imagination or lost souls destined to haunt Earth for eternity . There are thousands of spine-chilling ghost stories in literature, but we have chosen a new book destined to be a bestseller this year. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is a story surrounding a group of Arctic explorers. While discovering this harsh landscape, numbers soon dwindle until one man, Jack, is left to record his experiences in his journal. But is he alone?
Watch the book trailer below and click on the cover to get your copy today.
If you haven’t started thinking about Halloween yet, then this book trailer is certainly going to get you in the mood! The Distant Hours is a new novel by bestselling author Kate Morton which is enough to get you mystery fans excited. The trailer looks like something from a Tim Burton film with it’s creepy and desolate landscape. Looking forward to getting stuck into this book.
Watch the trailer below and if you haven’t got your copy, click on the book and get it in time for Halloween.
Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret. Evacuated from London as a thirteen year old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family. Fifty years later, Edie too is drawn to Milderhurst and the eccentric Sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness. Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it . . .
Leave your comments below to tell us what you think of Morton’s new novel.
Exciting news for all Susan Hill fans and all those who love a ghostly tale. The author of bestselling novel The Woman in Black is back again with another spooky novel. Read the synopsis for The Small Hand and if you are feeling extra brave click play to watch the book trailer.
This is the chilling tale of a man in the grip of a small, invisible hand…A ghost story by the author of “The Woman in Black” and “The Man in the Picture”, to be read by the fire on a cold winter’s night. Returning home from a visit to a client late one summer’s evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow takes a wrong turning and stumbles across the derelict old White House. Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakeable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, ‘as if a child had taken hold of it’. Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner’s grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister…
Click on the cover to get the book but don’t read it too late at night
This year sees the release of Never Let Me Go adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s with an all star cast including Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan along with Sally Hawkins.
Kathy, an ex-student of a boarding school deep in the English Countryside, relives her experiences and the fate that awaited her and her friends. Perfect for those who love dark tales with plenty of mystery.
An English tale of mystery, witchcraft and religion out new this week. If that doesn’t intrgue you enough then watch the trailer for Time’s Legacy by Barbara Erskine. httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzlHIMhaEkg
Can’t wait to put this in your personal library? Go on, treat yourself and click on the book cover.
All Harry Potter fans can start getting excited for the release of the first installment of The Deathly Hallows and to start the magic watch the trailer.
Discover the magic of the book by clicking on the cover.
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