LOCAL AUTHOR RELEASES LATEST BOOK FOCUSING ON HOW THE PAST WAS FILMED

Isle of Wight author, MJ Trow, has just published his latest book, History vs Hollywood – How the Past is Filmed. The book highlights the many mistakes of Hollywood’s historical movies and pinpoints historical films that were pivotal in terms of our understanding of the past. MJ Trow pokes gentle fun at the worthy actors, actresses, directors, writers and costume designers who thought they were getting it right while also raising debate about both history and film. Hollywood never gets it right. History and its characters are endlessly complicated, and producers, directors and screenwriters have a simple story to tell. They have a maximum of two hours to explain what happened over weeks or months or years and many of them give it their best shot. Yet for all Hollywood’s shortcomings in recreating the past, it has managed to evoke eras and people long dead in a magical way that has kept millions of us enthralled for generations. M.J. Trow is the author of almost 100 books covering crime fiction, true crime and historical biography. He is a military historian by training, lectures extensively in the UK and overseas, and has appeared regularly on the History and Discovery Channels. Trow moved to the Island back in 1976 and worked as a teacher of history and politics at what was then known as Ryde High School. The book is available to purchase on the Pen and Sword website here.