Good afternoon! Welcome to edition six of Wildfell Book Club. The following content is best consumed over an afternoon cuppa, so pop the kettle on.
A note from the editor:
In Jane Austen’s best novel, Emma, the titular character Emma Woodhouse, is so preoccupied with her unsuccessful attempts at matchmaking and retaining her crown as Queen Bee, that she fails to recognise her own feelings. Obsessed with what others may think, she humiliates another character, the well-meaning but irritating Miss Bates, while at a picnic with a group of their mutual friends. Emma has been so taken in by what she thinks people think and expect of her, that her vision becomes obstructed. She humiliates Miss Bates in order to keep up appearances.
In my opinion, social media can have a similar impact on our interactions. Concerned with what others might think of us and keen to observe the status quo, our social media microcosms can occasionally become a hive of superficiality. I include myself in this - I have often taken to comparing myself with what I see on a screen. For Emma, it is Mr Knightley’s intervention that causes her to change her ways and detach from her obsession with the thoughts and expectations of others. Maybe for us, that detachment might come from simply from switching off the phone.
Megan - EiC of Wildfell
Article of the Week:
One of our first reviews on the website reflecting upon a spookily apt dystopia, this article by Tommie Trelawny-Vernon discusses the novel, Earth Abides. Written by George R. Stewart, Tommie read the novel just prior to lockdown but was struck with its relevance to our current predicament. You can read his review here.
Illustration: Alex Abadjieva
Creative Writing of the Week:
A couple of weeks ago, we published our first short story on the zine. This short tale by Lauren Robertson is titled Down the side of the sofa. You can read it here.
Illustration: Sophie Kenyon
Book Recommendation:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a beautiful writer. I first read her book Half of a Yellow Sun last year and it is one of the only books to have made me cry. Set during the Biafran war in the late 1960s, the novel tells of two sisters Olanna and Kainene and the ways in which their lives are turned upside down by the conflict. Adichie’s prose is elegaic. Her own family was affected by the conflict and she lost both of her grandfathers to the war. I knew nothing of the conflict prior to reading the novel and found Half of a Yellow Sun a really informative as well as emotive read. I would really recommend it, whatever your usual tastes in fiction.
Knowledge corner:
John Hume, the former leader of the SDLP who had an instrumental role in the Good Friday Agreement, died this week. The New Statesman interviewed Claire Hanna, the SDLP MP for South Belfast on their podcast. It’s a really considered and insightful episode. You can listen to it here.
It’s all-change for the Scottish Conservatives this week, who just five days after Jackson Carlaw resigned, have a new leader: Douglass Ross. In this article, one of our editors and contributors, Alice Wright, discusses the next moves for the Scottish Tories. You can read her piece here.
This episode of BBC Radio Three’s The Essay is particularly fascinating. Can prison breaks ever be moral? If yes, then what makes them so? Find out here.
Interview of the Week:
This week’s interview is with one of our social media managers, Anna Russell.
Who is your favourite author and why?
To be honest, I’m not much of a bookworm so would not say I have a favourite author, I usually just read whatever friends recommend.
What genre of book do you keep returning to?
I usually just read what’s in the charts.
What are you currently reading? Would you recommend it so far?
I’m currently reading Gone Girl which I’ve been reading for probably 2-3 months now. This year I challenged myself to read a book per month (which is a lot more than my usual one per year!) I had been doing well on this challenge until I started Gone Girl... having said that I am enjoying the book.
Thanks for tuning in to edition six of Wildfell Book Club. As always, if you have any comments, queries or feedback on our content, please drop us a line on editor@wildfellzine.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Have a great weekend!