At long last it's April, my favorite time of the year -- a time of perfect weather, budding flowers, and reading of England! Well...it's the last week of March, anyway, and I can't wait anymore. If you're new, every April I like to devote my reading entirely to English history, English literature, and English personalities. Why April? April 23rd is the feast day of England's patron, St. George, and the anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Every year brings a different mix of history and literature, and some years I strike the balance better than others. This year I've already amassed a proper pile of potential books to go after, not including the English lit on my classics club liist, and I'm chomping at at the bit. Let's start the fun!
Yesterday in the mail I received "Rifleman Dodd" (CS Forester), "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" (Bill Bryson), and "To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World". I'll also take on at least one classic, with "Oliver Twist" and "The Vicar of Wakefield" being the two leading possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI shall look forward to your own discoveries!
Looking forward to your investigation into everything English (rather than British) as always.... I may even have some US focused reading later in the year.
ReplyDeleteEnglish - England. British - Great Britain.... England, Scotland and Wales. Add N Ireland and you have the United Kingdom (although technically that's IIRC England and Scotland. Technically Wales is/used to be a principality which is why it's not on the Union flag - as it wasn't part of the union......).
ReplyDeleteProbably 1086 at a guess... Essentially when the Normans took full control of the country.... ish.
DeleteIn Shakespeare though......... Not sure.
But if you're talking about a recognisable English language.......... I'd have to go with the 2nd half of the 17th century.
DeleteKing John was 24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216 so 13th century. I was thinking more Samuel Pepys 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703.
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