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NEWBURYNEWS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT n 2

Thursday, October 29, 2020 35

Newbury Weekly News

Newpublisheorntheblock

TheBase onlinefair suppotrs

Lockdown in Beenham gave Cassandra Davies, with her background in marketing, the opportunity to use her passion for writing to help others get published. ‘There’s still a need for a more traditional publishing house approach,’ she tells arts editor TRISH LEE

localartists andmakers GET into the festive spirit and put this forthcoming craft extravaganza in your diary. On Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22, between 10am and 4pm, The Base at Greenham will be holding a Christmas Online Fair to champion local artists, makers and creators on their social media platforms, as well as their website. You will be able to follow the event on The Base’s Facebook and Instagram pages over the course of the weekend. This will be a great opportunity to buy handmade Christmas decorations and gifts – or perhaps a little treat for yourself – while supporting independent businesses, all from the comfort of your own home. Find out more, visit https://thebasegreenham.co.uk

THE subtext to this feature might be local woman uses daughter’s lockdown homeschool schedule to start independent publishing house with baby in tow. Cassandra Davis started her own independent publishing house at the end of lockdown, while looking after her two children, who are now seven years old and 11 months. Working from her Beenham home in an area that doesn’t even have 4G phone Publishing from her sofa, with the baby in the bouncer and an A3 paper, hand- written school schedule stuck to the fridge. “I knew that for us, as a family, having a schedule during the day was going to be key to us staying sane in lockdown,” she said. “Together with my eldest daughter, we came up with a schedule that had time for learning as well as playing. “Having that in place meant that I could find the time for me, which led to having the time I needed to plan this business signal or decent Wi-Fi speeds, Cassandra set up Cahill Davis

Scott Thomas), and soon begins to question whether she made the right decision to marry Maxim. Constantly reminded of the beauty and brilliance of Rebecca, Mrs de Winter tries to adjust to her new life, fearing she may never fill the shoes of her husband’s first love. First off, the film is gorgeous to behold. From the 1930s glamour of the French Riviera, to the lavish trinkets and architecture of Manderley, the film never has a dull shot. The costumes are superb as well, with Maxim’s mustard-colour suit, and many of Mrs de Winter’s stylish get-ups being particularly memorable. This beauty is a far cry from Hitchcock’s original, which was far more focused on the Gothic abode that was Manderley, and the ghostly presence of Rebecca that wandered its dark halls. Wheatley’s film takes a different approach, feeling more like a romantic thriller than a Gothic folktale. It takes far longer establishing the couple’s relationship in Monte Carlo, where romance takes centre stage. James is very good at playing the innocent youth of Mrs de Winter, unable to conceal her frustrations and envy for the late Rebecca. Although Hammer seems a bit too hunky for the role of Maxim, who was played with such defeated brilliance by the great Laurence Olivier in the original, he still fares well, speaking with a rather impressive English accent for an American actor too. Scott Thomas is also good as Danvers, constantly conniving in the shadows. It’s an entertaining film that will bring in new fans unfamiliar with the novel or the Hitchcock film. However, I can’t but feel that Wheatley could’ve done more with the Gothic source material. Known out before I launched.” Cahill Davis Publishing was born from a love for books, stemming from the weekend trips to the library Cassandra took with her grandmother as a child. She wrote her first book in 2012 while she was working full-time and knows the pitfalls of writing and self- publishing for authors. After connecting with many like- minded authors on social media, she realised that even with the rise in eBooks and self-publishing, there was still a need for a more traditional publishing house approach. “There are so many things to consider when self-publishing that it becomes a business in itself and you spend more time on admin than you do writing, which is why I set up CDP. “Our aim is to combine the best of the traditional publishing team approach with the advances in technology and the rise of social media. “So you can find the perfect audience for your book, without needing to do everything yourself.”

With a formal background in business and social media marketing, but a passion for writing and publishing, Cassandra’s aim for Cahill Davis Publishing (CDP) is to combine the traditional structure of a publishing house with the responsiveness and flexibility of digital publishing. Lockdown has given her the opportunity to start the business she has wanted to for the last eight years. “There are so many amazing stories out there, that not enough people get to read because the marketing of them doesn’t reach the right audience. Or they never make it off an editor’s to-be-read pile in the first place. “We want to change that by creating a bespoke marketing plan for each and every book we publish, so your book finds the people who will love reading it.” CDP is currently looking for full-length commercial fiction in English and is happy to receive submissions from authors from all backgrounds and without agents. www.cahilldavispublishing.co.uk

CassandraDavis

There are so many amazing stories out there, that not enough people get to read because the marketing of them doesn’t reach the right audience. Or they never make it off an editor’s to-be- read pile in the first place

Rebecca : aclassicforanewgeneration

‘...the film is gorgeous to behold. From the 1930s glamour of the French Riviera, to the lavish trinkets and architecture of Manderley, the film never has a dull shot’. Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca reviewed by CAMERON BLACKSHAW

However, with maverick British director Ben Wheatley at the helm and a talented cast to boot, I was more hopeful. Wheatley’s Rebecca is certainly different to Hitchcock’s, but that makes it no less entertaining and thrilling. The story follows a young and naïve woman (Lily James), who we come to know as Mrs de Winter after she meets Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer), a rich widower who is still coping with his first wife’s tragic demise, but then comes to love again when he meets the protagonist. The pair begin an affair in Monte Carlo before marrying and travelling to Maxim’s Cornish estate, Manderley, where Mrs de Winter begins to learn more about her predecessor, the mysterious Rebecca who her husband refuses to ever discuss. She comes to know the estate’s massive Downton Abbey -style staff, led by the cold and cruel Mrs Danvers (Kristin

DAPHNE du Maurier’s famous 1938 Gothic novel Rebecca has been adapted to the screen on multiple occasions – the most famous of which was released just two years after it was first published, when one of Hollywood’s greatest producers, David O Selznick, recruited a young Alfred Hitchcock to direct a feature film based on the wildly successful book. The film was also a wild success, praised by critics and audiences alike, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture that year. Hitchcock’s ghostly gothic tale still holds up to this day, with the film’s engrossing cinematography presenting the Manderley estate as a dark and foreboding fortress of mournful memories. I was apprehensive on hearing about another adaptation being made of Rebecca , considering how good I still believe Hitchcock’s version to be.

tried and tested story for new audiences. It’s a question that I’ll probably never get the answer to, but in all honesty, it doesn’t really matter. Rebecca is still an entertaining romantic thriller that many will sink their teeth into and be left satiated. Rebecca is available on Netflix now.

for his dark and suspenseful psychological horror films A Field in England and Kill List , I hoped so much that he would bring his delightfully macabre touch to Rebecca . Alas, it sometimes shines through in particular sequences, but I doubt Netflix wanted their two beautiful leading actors to undergo what horrors Wheatley could have prepared. It leads me to ask why Wheatley, a director with such a unique cinematic voice, would helm such a project, a project that does little but modernise the

Rebecc(a12A) Runnintgime2hr1min Rating: ****