I love the British accents ...and if I happen to have watched several..find myself using typically British terms or expressions...which is funny to me.
Of course...there are loads of differences in speech depending on social class (hate the word...but there it is)...an aristocratic character very easy to understand...the slang and accents of chacters playing uneducated..more of a challenge. Also ...there are regional differences...so fun all round.
Have trouble with a thick brogue...if I hear it on a mystery show which includes Irish detectives; other than that ...no difficulty at all.
Last night I watched The man behind King George VI's Speech. I didn't see the movie starring Colin Firth...but this was an interesting documentary which helped me understand more of the dynamics of the royal family during WWII.
Watched the fictionalized account of Queen Victoria and her family many times...forget the title at the moment; it focused on Bertie..the man who begiled many with his wit and charm...but waited the longest to reign for a short time after his mother's death.
The Inspector Lynley series is a favorite. I've read all the books...then watched what was on offer @ Netflix. What amuses me about that series is that I thought Elizabeth George was Brit....but noooo...she lives in California:). Think I may have mentioned that before.
Ruth Rendell's books are good; writing as Barbara Vine the stories are more psychologically slanted.
We had to read Shakespeare when I was at school, and I believe many British schools still studying him. Can be hard going.
I like Jane Austin and Bronte sister novels. Also Dickens, which is adapted to TV a lot over here.
Do you like the British accents?
Many of my favorite authors are British. Aside from classics...which I love, I seem frequently drawn to British fiction and Netflix lets me enjoy BBC versions of such classics as Brideshead Revisited, Howard's End, Sense and Sensibility..etc. Oh... I loved The Wind in the Willows. My nephew introduced me to this author thru the TV series.
I regret that I did not study Shakespeare. Have tried to educate myself with Professor Harold Bloom's notes....but think a class is essential to understand the Bard.
One of my therapists told me years ago that reading Shakespeare was all we needed to do to understand the human condition.
I'm re-reading Anthony Burgess' 'The Wanting Seed'. If you can get past Burgess' homophobia, the book is even more relevant to what's going on today than when I read it 40 years ago or when it was written 50 years ago.
Wondered if you liked the classics like Charles Dickens, Bronte sisters, Jane Austin. Do you study Shakespeare in school like we do?
I do. I remember the Bridgett Jones series. Loved it. Got my first one when IN London. There are the Harry Potter books of course. And I know I love others. I'll have to look. any suggestions?? :>)