At AvidBards, we continue to be honoured when authors ask us to review their books. Though we’ve admittedly been much slower to take on new books and respond to requests in the last little while (especially throughout the pandemic), one request that really piqued our interest was actor Leon Acord’s memoir entitled Sub-Lebrity*: *The Queer Life of a Show-Biz Footnote.
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Taking place in the early nineteenth century in southern England, Art & Grace, a regency era novel, follows a mixed-race maid, Bess, as she struggles to ensure a stable and safe future. The premise of the story intrigued me by the inclusion of aspects of slavery and race which is so often left out in the writings of Dickens and Austen. Indeed, in his book The World, the Text and the Critic, Edward Said points out how the underlying context of colonialism serves as the unspoken funder of the rich and wealthy during this period. Author Catherine E. Chapman brings…
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Happy Pride Month! For many countries around the world (namely Western ones), June is Pride month—a month of recognition, and in the recent decades a celebration, of the rights and equality of all members of the LGBTQ+ community. It is no revelation that to many, literature is a form of escape from reality. And in the case of the LGBTQ+ community, it has similarly been turned to as a source of validation. Literature featuring homosexual characters is not as new as some may think, with evidence of same-sex relationships being hinted at, or even described, in as early as the…
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Book Review: Instant Wisdom Author: Beth Burgess Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ISBN: 9 780957 321731 Christmas is over and we are officially in the 2018 homestretch. And that means it’s that time of the year for New Year’s resolutions! (Woo, cue festive fanfare) I know, I know! How can you be thinking of resolutions when you’re so full from Christmas dinner that you’re dealing with brain fog? It’s a difficult one. While I’m not…
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