Culture Watch

Fraught with danger and intrigue, Ms. Mantel gives us a view into the complex, brilliant mind of Thomas Cromwell, and deftly enables us to follow his reasoning and machinations as he strives to do his master’s work, that of Henry VIII. If you have not read Ms. Mantel’s earlier book, Wolf Hall, you will benefit greatly from tackling it before moving on to Bring up the Bodies. When J. K. Rowling delivers the mystery series in the future based on The Cuckoo's Calling characters, it will provide readers with some very satisfying hours — or, as a friend says about her love of crime fiction, some delectable "comfort food of the mind." So, after selling more than half a billion volumes of Harry Potter, does Rowling deserve our attention in her new literary adventure? No question about it, she does. more »

Edward Hopper drew inspiration for his urban landscapes from the streets and architecture of New York City, which he prowled from his home base in the Village. His trademark preoccupation with ordinary subjects — diners, bridges, roads, boarding houses, bedrooms and gas stations — and a fascination with solitary figures and their reveries, defined him. His figure paintings, many of women and many of his wife-turned-model Josephine, are infused with ambiguity, tension and poetic longing. more »

Adventurous avant-garde picture books from Bolshevik Russia; a Civil War-era patriotic reader published for children of the Confederate States; a Noah Webster speller aimed at teaching a uniquely American English to the schoolchildren of the newly formed US; the manuscript of James Stephens’s Irish Fairy Tales to help preserve Irish tradition in a time of English rule; Japanese comic books meant to teach children English during the post-war Allied Occupation; a fascinating recent picture book from post-colonial Francophone Africa. more »

Reviewer Julia Sneden writes: The Bookman's Tale involves a blazing romance, a marriage followed by tragedy, a rare book mystery, and even a murder. If you like books, history, and mysteries involving old books, this is the story for you. Being reminded of the brave, intelligent, controversial women who broke through many barriers a good hundred years before the 1950's has been a fascinating experience and I have read Rebels at the Bar with profound gratitude.                                                                                     more »