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33rd out of 41 books
—
7 voters
A Curious Invitation: The Forty Greatest Parties in Literature
Since ancient times human beings have gathered together for social purposes. And since not very long after that writers have written about these occasions. The party is a useful literary device, not only for social comment and satire, but as an occasion where characters can meet, fall in love, fall out or even get murdered. A Curious Invitation features forty of the greate...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
October 11th 2012
by Picador
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My Nudge review of A Curious Invitation can be found here:
http://www.nudgemenow.com/article/a-c...
This was an incredibly interesting and well put together book which included, as the title suggests, the forty greatest parties in literature - or what the author believes them to be, anyway. The locations and types of literature included were incredibly varied and my favourite entries were certainly those pertaining to Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There and Winnie the Pooh. A must...more
http://www.nudgemenow.com/article/a-c...
This was an incredibly interesting and well put together book which included, as the title suggests, the forty greatest parties in literature - or what the author believes them to be, anyway. The locations and types of literature included were incredibly varied and my favourite entries were certainly those pertaining to Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There and Winnie the Pooh. A must...more
This is a wonderful fun-to-read book. The forty parties discussed are a sweep of literature from the Bible to Stephen King. You can be glad you weren't invited to some of these parties--they're a real horror show, such as The Masque of the Red Death, Belshazzer's Feast, The Anubis Orgy, but they'll all such fun to read about, like a snarky society column.
Some thing "curious" about "A Curious Invitation" is that there's very little mention of what food was served at many of these parties. The im...more
Some thing "curious" about "A Curious Invitation" is that there's very little mention of what food was served at many of these parties. The im...more
Being instantly drawn to this book, which features such a quirky title in combination with one of the most gorgeous covers I've seen in a long time, this proved indeed to be quite a unique read. Suzette Field certainly picked an unusual topic in her book A Curious Invitation, presenting an eclectic collection of bookish parties - from Queen Alice's Feast to The Ball at Mansfield Park, straight to The Thomas Ewen High School Prom and Finnegan's Wake!
The focus on parties as literary device, and po...more
The focus on parties as literary device, and po...more
A Curious Invitation : The 40 Greatest Parties in Literature was published in October by Picador, I was delighted to receive a copy of this beautifully presented book from Sandra in the Picador Press Office.
It really is a joy to look at, the cover is wonderfully illustrated, with touches of gold leaf in amongst the drawings, there are more black and white drawings dotted throughout the book.
Suzette Field is a very successful event promoter. the balls and parties that she arranges regularly attra...more
It really is a joy to look at, the cover is wonderfully illustrated, with touches of gold leaf in amongst the drawings, there are more black and white drawings dotted throughout the book.
Suzette Field is a very successful event promoter. the balls and parties that she arranges regularly attra...more
Eclectic look at the depiction of parties, soirees, banquets and balls across the whole history of literature, examining every dress code, menu, guest list and conversation. Possibly the first book to compare Joyce's Finnegan's Wake with Jackie Collins's Hollywood Wives (!)Has persuaded me to finally get around to certain books...
Here's a list of all 40 of the novels:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/25...
Here's a list of all 40 of the novels:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/25...
BIAS ALERT: I am the author's literary agent. I love both the book and the author. That is why I represent them. So please don't annoy me by expecting objectivity.
Oct 28, 2012
Litro Magazine
added it
Litro Magazine review by Becky Ayre: http://www.litro.co.uk/?p=36811
I was immediately drawn to this book having read what it was about. Overall, it's an entertaining book although I have to admit I expected it to be different. I enjoyed some of the author's dry comments though as she says it might be the best read for party givers, as inspiration.
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