''Dunbar'' is a 2017 novel by British novelist Edward St Aubyn. A modern retelling of William Shakespeare's '' King Lear'', the novel was commissioned as part of the

Hogarth Shakespeare The Hogarth Shakespeare project was an effort by Hogarth Press to retell works by William Shakespeare for a more modern audience. To do this, Hogarth commissioned well-known writers to select and re-imagine the plays. Novels Authors and works ...

series.

Conception, development, and writing

The novel retells the Shakespeare play '' King Lear'' as part of the

project. When his agent approached Hogarth about St Aubyn participating in the project, St Aubyn was between novels. He was allowed to choose which of Shakespeare's plays he wanted to adapt from the group of plays not yet adapted by other authors. The "Lear" character of the novel, Henry Dunbar, founded a media conglomerate; St Aubyn felt someone rooted in the "permafrost of power" would make a better analogue to a king than a temporarily elected official. St Aubyn has denied the character has a basis in reality, saying he was not based on Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone, or Donald Trump. St Aubyn began revisiting ''King Lear'' by watching Peter Brook 1971

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

. At the outset of writing the book, St Aubyn experienced some anxiety about the project, which abated as he continued working. St Aubyn wrote the book at home, as opposed to cafés, as he had earlier works. When he began writing the novel's conclusion, St Aubyn was not sure how he would end the book, but knew he wanted to avoid a happy ending as found in Nahum Tate's '' The History of King Lear''.

Reception

Critical reception

Sophie Gilbert's review in '' The Atlantic'' praised the novel, highlighting a perceived connection between St Aubyn's personal life and the subject matter of ''King Lear'' as well as the dialogue. Writing for NPR, Annalisa Quinn compared the novel favorably to other entries in the Hogarth series. ''Dunbar'' received a more critical review in the ''

Chicago Review of Books The ''Chicago Review of Books'' is an online literary publication of StoryStudio Chicago which reviews recent books covering diverse genres, presses, voices, and media. The magazine was started in 2016 and Adam Morgan is the founding editor-in-c ...

''. Critic Greg Zimmerman compared it less favorably to other Hogarth books, referring to it as a "solid if not spectacular entry in the...series".

References

{{reflist 2017 British novels Novels based on plays Works based on King Lear Novels set in Canada Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Novels based on works by William Shakespeare Hogarth Press books