I read scootsa 1000’s review of Exit, Pursued by a Bear and instantly thought, Yes, I very much want to read this book. I read Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (categorized as a romance) nine years ago in a Shakespeare seminar taught by one of my favorite undergraduate professors. In her planning of the class, she’d asked several majors if we’d like to do the typical tragedy-comedy dichotomy, and, to her infinite delight, we begged for the obscurer plays: the histories and the romances. Nerd moment: my favorite ever Shakespeare play is I Henry IV. It was my undergraduate honors thesis, and truly one of the more interesting historical explorations of power and heritage. Definitely check out The Hollow Crown, which is BBC’s rendition of the second Henriad (that is, Richard II, I Henry IV, II Henry IV, and Henry V). While some details of The Winter’s Tale are a bit fuzzy, I do remember that Hermione is the wronged queen banished to death, and it is her daughter and her loyal friend Paulina who help the king repent of his accusations and bring her back to life through art.
So to bring a more obscure play to life with a young adult novel, titled with the best-ever stage direction of all time? NERD HEAVEN. [sidenote: do you play the bear funny or scary? This was the everlasting debate when my sister went to see this play at the Stratford Festival of Canada.] Read my full review for the scoop, and do be warned: there is a trigger warning for frank (but not graphic) discussions of rape.
So glad you liked it as much as I did. I wish I had known more about the Shakespeare side of the story when I read it…maybe that’s a project to tackle for CBR9!