the spark of life
Writers from as early as Shakespeare have taken their inspiration from other writer’s themes and ideas and from myths and legends. This month we look at contemporary writers who are inspired by myths and other stories: Esther Freud’s The Wild has the archetypal set up of a fairy story; Wide Sargasso Sea, was inspired by Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre; Ulysses uses the structure and themes from Homer’s Odyssey; Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley retells the legend of King Arthur and George Orwell’s Animal Farm has become a teaching parable for generations of readers. We also look at the Orange Prize winning Property by Valerie Mann. When the author read a brief description of a slave revolt in Louisiana she was inspired to write the novel which went on to win the Orange Prize. Yan Martel who wrote the Man Booker Prize-winning Life of Pi credits another author for giving his book 'the spark of life.'
suggested reading The Wild Wide Sargasso Sea Ulysses Mists of Avalon Animal Farm Property Life of Pi The Songs of the Kings
Author interviews
