Unheard Voices: Tales from the Margins of Literature by Susan Elkin
This exciting, original book of short stories takes minor characters from major literature and tells their stories.
How would Liza Lu, Tess’s younger sister, have felt as she watched the flag rise over the prison wall to tell her that her sister had been hanged at the end of Tess of the D’Urbervilles? Would she really have trotted meekly off to marry her widowed brother-in-law? Susan Elkin thinks not.
What is going on in her head in the final scene of the Merchant of Venice when Jessica learns that her father is ruined and sick? Is she really as hard-hearted and self obsessed as she seems? Susan Elkin’s story gives her a voice – and a conscience.
The Mayor of Hamelin finds it hard to live with himself in Susan Elkin’s story too. He reneged on an agreement and, according to Robert Browning’s poem, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, his decision led to the loss of every child in the town.
From Genesis to DH Lawrence and from Jane Austen to Ibsen, this sparky, intriguing collection of fourteen short stories explores the highways and byways of literature.
Unheard Voices: Tales from the Margins of Literature will appeal to:
- People who know and love the original novels, plays, poems and stories
- Readers, including young adults, who don’t know the originals but are looking for an accessible introduction to them.
- Anyone who enjoys a good strong, standalone story.
Susan Elkin is a well established journalist and author with over 50 books to her name. Unheard Voices: Tales from the Margins of Literature is her fictional debut.
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Read more about Susan in our Alumna Spotlight here.