Saturday 27 August 2022

My Lighter Pieces


 

The oldest things on my list were plays I wrote – for junior pupils but for adult audiences. I have only published the ones I think you might enjoy, whatever your age.  They all cost less than a pint of beer, and, indeed, if you are a Kindle Unlimited person, they are free.

 

Cockburn’s Edinburgh This isn’t all fun, to be sure. It includes a duel, a public execution and a miscarriage of justice. But Henry Cockburn’s “Memorials” are perhaps the most readable book on Edinburgh history, and I have tried to keep his quiet wit. I wrote it with the deliberate intention of passing on a lot of Edinburgh history, and entertaining audiences at the same time.

Cockburn's Edinburgh (Plays by a History Teacher Book 1) eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

Three Wise Men I took the Christmas Story as told by St Matthew and had him retell it for a modern audience. My intention was to raise a lot of laughs and to provoke a lot of thought. I am happy with the result. It also casts a critical eye over the teaching profession and the nature of wisdom.

Three Wise Men: A Christmas Play (Plays by a history teacher Book 2) eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Books

 

The Baker Street Irregulars This is a Sherlock Holmes play. I devised a new story, involving Wiggins and his gang, as well as Holmes and Watson. The story involves Moriarty, and a nihilist bomb plot. Much of the action is set in a music hall, and part of the fun was to incorporate lots of well-known music hall songs. You can hum along as you read.

The Baker Street Irregulars (Plays by a History Teacher) eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

The Curse of Donald Bane This one is about David I of Scotland and the founding of Edinburgh. I realised after I had written it that it has echoes of Rosemary Sutcliff in the approach, but I am happy with that. It is so much a play of a history teacher that it contains footnotes with primary sources.

The Curse of Donald Bane (Plays of a History Teacher Book 4) eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

The Secret of Eilean Mhor During lock-down I wrote a children’s adventure story for my grandsons – and illustrated it. I was sure it was good enough to publish, so here it is. It is really a celebration of wonderful holidays on the west coast of Scotland, with an adventure as well.

The Secret of Eilean Mhor eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

An Introduction to the Renaissance This is one of my history lectures, but I really wrote it not for exams but for those who may have many ideas and experiences of the Renaissance - maybe visitors to Italy - but would like to get their ideas in order. As well as talking about art, I also deal briefly with humanism.

An Introduction to the Renaissance (A-grade History Lectures Book 15) eBook : Harris, George: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

No comments:

Post a Comment