In Anna Correnna, a cloud passes between the lovers who should be in the throes of infatuated joy. This is an extraordinary passage about how men and women lovers both respond in completely different ways. Dora says, you know, call me your wife, child. The whole story is the first of the great writers. I think it looks forward to Strimberg and Ibsen, who actually understands love can make you obsessed. It can turn bad. Flowbed, he's very, very close to that, I think.
This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. Dickens. Tolstoy. Their names and reputations shake the ground – and so do their books, if you drop one. But whose legacy is more enduring? Whose vision truer and more relevant today? Should you embark on War and Peace or Our Mutual Friend? To battle it out, in 2018 Intelligence Squared brought two celebrated writers, John Mullan for Dickens and Simon Schama for Tolstoy, to our stage. They called on a cast of star actors, including Tom Hiddleston, to bring their arguments to life with readings from the authors’ finest works. The debate was chaired by author, playwright and broadcaster Bonnie Greer.
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