Undeserved slings

The reviewer of my book Studying Shakespeare on Film has almost entirely mis­understood or misrepresented its content (Special Textbook guide, May 25).

Catherine Richardson argues that the book is “strong on technical terms but less convincing on how they might build into a language of ­analysis that could connect films to plays”. The key point is that Studying Shakespeare on Film does what the title implies. The book as a whole draws extensively on the language of film to provide the critical vocabulary needed to make Shakespeare film adaptations critically accessible to literature and drama students. Furthermore, the book explores the very different performance and reception conditions of stage and film Shakespeare and the various modes and styles of presenting Shakespeare on film.

Maurice Hindle
London