Philippa Kelly, The King and I (London: Bloomsbury, 2011) (original) (raw)

2014, Early Modern Literary Studies

The most striking thing about this book is its straightforward intimacy. It comes at you straight-on, directly announcing that 'For me, King Lear is alive' (p. 1). I suppose you could call it bio-criticism, not in the Agamben/late Foucault sense but in a rich narrative openness to the way the human experience of living with great literary works over time folds them into your personal history, so that the mad old king starts to feel familiar, connected, part of your life. This is a theatrical book, focused on great performances and productions, and a careful study of the play. By the end you feel as if you'd know Philippa Kelly if you saw her on the street or, say, around a seminar table somewhere. It's also a thoroughly Australian book, wrestling repeatedly with the insight that 'Both Australia and King Lear are forces I am always catching up with. Neither is for me a