AvidBards
Books

‘Art & Grace’ by Catherine E. Chapman Review

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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TV Shows

5 Best Period Dramas for Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of the year again when we see flowers everywhere and the price of chocolate is blasphemously high again. Last year, I did a list of my favourite unconventional Valentine’s Day movies to watch. This year, I’m feeling a little more old-fashioned, feeling the nostalgia for the kind of romance that my grandparents or great grandparents would have experienced. It’s easy to feel romanced by the quiet desires and subtle interactions that have you feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside just because of a slight hand graze. Sure, it’s not realistic, and it’s definitely not the world…

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Reviews

Series Review: “Wanderlust”

To those that keenly subscribe to Netflix, you may have heard of or seen a trailer for the U.K. show entitled Wanderlust. A show about a mostly functional family, Wanderlust is predominantly focused on a couple named Joy and Alan as they make a massive relationship change. Suffering from romantic and sexual ennui with each other, they decide to open their relationship to other partners. Mimicking the aura of the Netflix anthology show Easy – a show that also outlines the human experience through various interactions and relationships – Wanderlust doesn’t try to be a glamorized or overtly scandalous depiction…

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Academic

Understanding Tragic Romance

There have been many times where I hear a person – or an institution – say that tragic plays like Romeo and Juliet or novels like Wuthering Heights are ‘romantic’. I’ve always had somewhat of a problem with this ideology – and that’s not to say that I think those people are wrong. Because the fact of the matter is, works like these are set up and have long been advertised as romances. Not only that, but they have been set up to epitomize romance. However, there are so many more layers as to what kind of romance is portrayed…

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5 Best Series

5 Best Binge-worthy Netflix Originals

Anbody who has Netflix knows that there are a ton of – perhaps too many – options when it comes to Netflix Originals. This behemoth of a company pumps out a new show or film seemingly every month, so it can be tough to figure out which ones are worth watching. And hey, maybe they’re all worth watching; Netflix does, after all, generally dedicate quality production and content. However, if you just need a place to start and don’t know where to, here’s a list of five amazing original series that truly give Netflix a good rep. Since some of…

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Movies

Guest Post: The New Teen Rom-Com is Queer

Hello, readers! S & I have an important announcement: as of today, we will be putting up guest posts on AvidBards in addition to our own! Katherine H. writes today’s wonderful post, on the queer diversification of teen romantic comedies and what that means for mainstream media. Katherine is a graduate from the University of Edinburgh and American University. She currently lives in New Hampshire and cannot wait to start her PhD in History at Durham University. If you are interested in writing a guest post, contact us on IG or Facebook @avidbards! (Warning: this post contains minimal potential spoilers…

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