Perhaps I am just too much of the peasant class, but I have yet to like one of these Hogarth Press re-imaginings of Shakespeare's plays. I had hoped that their "King Lear" entry, "Dunbar", would change that since it was by Edward St. Aubyn, author of the Patrick Melrose novels which I loved, marveled at, and read more than once.

Alas. No. There is nothing new enough about it to justify the re-telling, and the having to hew to a pre-ordered plot seems to have leached away his wit, incisive emotional acuity, and style. Too, perhaps, at this point in history, it is difficult to summon any sympathy for the ruination of a delusional, patriarchal nut-job who has thrived on wielding his power and influence.

We can only hope . . . .