The Open Book series: discussion of Arthur Phillips' "The Tragedy of Arthur"

Elise Blackwell will host a discussion of Arthur Phillips’ novel, “The Tragedy of Arthur,” at 6 p.m. in Capstone campus room.

The Washington Post calls Arthur Phillips’ fifth novel, The Tragedy of Arthur, “an emotional and elaborately constructed tour de force” from “one of the best writers in America.” Its doomed hero (who happens to be named Arthur Phillips) is a young novelist struggling with a con artist father who works wonders of deception. Imprisoned for decades and nearing the end of his life, Arthur’s father reveals a treasure he’s kept secret for half a century: The Tragedy of Arthur, a previously unknown play by William Shakespeare. Is the manuscript Arthur and his sister inherit the Bard’s last gift to humanity, or is it their father’s last and greatest con? This witty and virtuosic novel, which includes Shakespeare’s (?) lost play in its entirety, challenges our notions of truth, fiction, genius, and identity, as the two Arthurs—the novelist and the ancient king—play out their strangely intertwined fates. The Tragedy of Arthur was a New York Times Notable Book as well as a New Yorker Reviewers’ Favorite of the Year, and was named to the best-of-the-year lists of the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, Library Journal, Kirkus, and Salon.

The Open Book is a literary series and community read rolled into one. The 2017 Series will run Mondays and Wednesdays for five weeks: March 27 – April 26, 6-7 pm. Each Monday will feature host Elise Blackwell (or a guest speaker) discussing that week’s book, followed by the author’s talk on Wednesday. Author visits conclude with a book-signing reception.

Sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, The Open Book is free and open to all.