The works of George Orwell, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien have arguably more influence today than when they were first published. 1984, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings have also been turned into movies as has that other icon of British fiction: Harry Potter.
This is Leadenhall Market, an old-fashioned Victorian market that's still popular today, and I've been told that if I walk over here, something rather magical will happen... because this is also the location of Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter films where wizards come shopping.
Evanesco!
…..
The Harry Potter films were adapted from the children’s novels of J.K. Rowling. She is a world-class leader in modern literature and one of the most successful authors of her generation. Over 450 million copies of the Harry Potter books have sold throughout the world. They’ve been translated into 72 different languages.
Amanda Craig is a novelist and The Times critic for children’s literature.
Richard: Amanda, what impact has J.K. Rowling had on literature?
Amanda: I think above all she's reminded the world that the British are great storytellers. She's made people in every country laugh, cry and sit on the edge of their seats.
Richard: What about other British authors, then?
Amanda: Well, there are fantastic children's authors, like Philip Pullman, whose Dark Materials trilogy I'm sure will be familiar, and Anthony Horowitz, who reinvented the James Bond spy novel for teenagers, and for younger children, there's Cressida Cowell's How to Train your Dragon. All of these are fantastic stories.
Richard: Why is Britain such a breeding ground for writing talent?
Amanda: Well, we've had over 200 years of practice at the novel and 600 years at the play. We've got people like Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare to draw upon, we've got the wonderful English language and I think we are full of curiosity about other people. We want to entertain them, we want to make them laugh, we want to make them feel shivers up their spine. We just love literature.
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Well, I’m excited about the classics and the future of modern British literature. They say there’s a book in everyone and I feel so inspired, I'm going to start writing straight away. I just need a pen...
Comments
Hello Aung THet Naing,
The meaning of 'as has' here is 'and the same is true of'. The 'has' part is there because the sentence has a present perfect form ('have also been turned into'), but you can use 'as + auxiliary verb' with different tenses. For example:
Peter works at LearnEnglish. Adam works at LearnEnglish. (present simple; auxiliary verb = do/does)
> Peter works at Learn English, as does Adam.
Manchester is a city in the north of English. Leeds is a city in the north of England. (present form of 'be'; auxiliary verb = am/is/are)
> Manchester is a city in the north of England, as is Leeds.
I will be late today. Jill will be late today. (will future; auxiliary verb = will)
> I will be late today, as will Jill.
I hope that clears it up for you. Thanks for an interesting question that I'm sure others have wanted to ask too.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I watched this video and the previous one.I like both of them ,but a little problem encounters me which is about understanding every thing.On one side I can understand about 50% of what is he talking about, but one the other hand I can answer correctly 90% of the tasks. so what can I do to understanding the British accent better.
Hello,
The GREAT videos are among the most difficult on LearnEnglish, so don't worry if you don't understand everything. Try another series like Word on the Street, you might understand more of it.
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team
Hai friends, I like this page .I Love shakespeare's all dramas, like English , the Asian Language Tamil has the longest and oldest history,it has so many poems,epics,and many stories . If any body studied that language please share with me.
I love British literature... I believe there isn't another place that has so many great and famous writers, it's amazing. I've read the seven books of Harry Potter... I "devoured" the last one and I've watched all the movies more than three times each... I've read in English only the first one... but after reading it in my language and after watching the movie is easier to understand... I dare say I've improved my English thanks to Harry Potter, books + films
Harry Potter books are very populare becouse they have wonderful imagination and sense.I read some parts of Harry Potter,but i watched all parts of famouse film...I think i can write a novel,but i need a pan...
From my point of view, Ken Follett is one of the greatest English storytellers. Breathtaking work.
And not even a word about Virginia Woolf; if that is not a writer who makes British literature great, not just well-known, then ...? Anyway, I love her novels, and you really have many good writers. Thanks again for the wonderful work you do.
My daughter is a great fun of Harry Potter. She read it and watched the film many times. I was inspired by her to watch the film. It attracts not only children but adults as well. My family always talk going to Britain to see the place where Harry Potter was filmed like Leadenhall Market.
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