The Next Harry Potter?
10/16/2004
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New Line, the studio that turned Lord of the Rings into the definitive film event of the decade (okay, so far...), has bought the rights to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the British fantasy novel by Susannah Clarke. That's great and all, but what I want to know is why New Line is busy buying new rights when they haven't even released their production of His Dark Materials, perhaps the greatest fantasy series of all time. Let's focus, New Line!
And along these lines, can someone please explain to me why Britain is the home of major fantasy writing, particularly for children? I know there are lots of American genre writers, but very few of them have crossed over into serious literature.* The Brits--all the way back to Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings--seem to have a monopoly on fantasy as literature. What's up with that?
*Yes, I know that L. Frank Baum and the Wizard of Oz novels might fit into this category. But my point still stands.
And along these lines, can someone please explain to me why Britain is the home of major fantasy writing, particularly for children? I know there are lots of American genre writers, but very few of them have crossed over into serious literature.* The Brits--all the way back to Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings--seem to have a monopoly on fantasy as literature. What's up with that?
*Yes, I know that L. Frank Baum and the Wizard of Oz novels might fit into this category. But my point still stands.
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