Books

Unmistakably Blytonian: Modernising The Magic Faraway Tree

Olga Hughes July 29, 2026

It’s almost a rhetorical question: can Enid Blyton be modernised? Of course she can. And anyone still unconvinced need only...

Grandpa Joe Is Not the Villain, You Are: Ableism, Classism, and Ageism in the Online Hatred of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Grandpa Joe

Olga Hughes June 8, 2026

The first sort of lighthearted criticism of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory character I came across was actually of...

From ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to ‘Persuasion’: Can Jane Austen Survive the Millennium?

Olga Hughes July 29, 2022

The first time I saw Jane Austen described as a ‘prose Shakespeare’ it struck me as absolute perfection. It was...

From ‘Wicked Wife’ to ‘Insane Traitor’: The Continued Slander of Jane Boleyn

Olga Hughes January 25, 2021

There was a time, not that long ago, when I was enthusiastic about arguing every detail, and examining every possible...

His Dark Materials Book to Screen Analysis: Season 2 Episode 7 Æsahættr

Olga Hughes December 31, 2020

Episode spoilers and full book spoilers for The Subtle Knife. Æsahættr The crew behind His Dark Materials have always been...

His Dark Materials Book to Screen Analysis: Season 2 Episode 6 Malice

Olga Hughes December 20, 2020

Episode Spoilers Malice All of Mrs. Coulter’s story over season two, from her torturing the witch Katja, the murder of...

“From The Ashes” Poetry for Bushfire Relief: Call for Submissions

Olga Hughes January 23, 2020

Call for submissions. The 2019-2020 bushfire season has seen unprecedented destruction, as well as an unprecedented national and worldwide response....

His Dark Materials Book to Screen Analysis: Episode 8 Season Finale ‘Betrayal’

Olga Hughes December 29, 2019

Episode 8 Spoilers Betrayal If there was one episode this season that was an almost perfect adaptation of the source...

His Dark Materials Book to Screen Analysis: Episode 7 ‘The Fight to the Death’

Olga Hughes December 21, 2019

Episode 7 Spoilers The Fight to the Death There is no way of getting around the fact that, for book...

His Dark Materials Book to Screen Analysis: Episode 6 ‘The Daemon-Cages’

Olga Hughes December 11, 2019

Episode Six Spoilers The Daemon-Cages Philip Pullman once said that “There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult...