Prospero's Books

All in all, a magical book. The 24 books thrown into the leaky vessel that took Prospero into exile are the starting point of Peter Greenaway's screen adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest." This edition brings together beautifully detailed descriptions of the books themselves, the sets, action and visual effects, illustrated with stills and Greenaway's own drawings. Greenaway's surrealistic film may be difficult for some, however, this book opens the doors to his magic. He describes each of the books, then presents a scene by scene account of the entire film. Well illustrated, but it could have been three times larger! Highly recommended.