BasedOnBooks: Death Comes to Pemberley

One thing that I love doing is to watch period dramas. Preferably those that are based on Jane Austen novels and one that stands out for me is "Death Comes to Pemberley" by P.D. James.

The drama begins six years after the events in Pride and Prejudice which we all know resulted in the marriage of Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet.  The couple are preparing a bal and are in wait for all the guests to arrive when all of a sudden a very unexpected guest arrives screaming "Murder! Murder! MURDER!" Thus the mystery begins...

The ensemble cast is lovely and the acting is superb. My favourite couple, aside from Darcy and Elizabeth, is Georgina and Henry. Some have complained that Elizabeth wasn't portrayed as they has imagined her, but to her defence a decade has almost passed, who wouldn't look a little worn out?

A Thousand Nights by E.K Johnston

I'm a sucker for beautiful books and I'm ashamed to admit that I do really judge books by their cover. Just take a good look at the one above, the pages, the lining and most of all the illustrations. So amazingly beautiful! But if I stop being shallow and start examing the content, it is as lovely on the inside as it is on the outside. So what is it about?

Well, it is inspired by A Thousand and One Nights. A king kills his wives and his most recent one is trying to stay alive by telling him stories. But that's where the inspiration ends and a new story unfolds.

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.