‘The Hogarth Shakespeare project by Penguin Random House launched in 2015 with Jeanette Winterson’s The Gap of Time (The Winter’s Tale).
2016 launched Howard Jacobson’s Shylock Is My Name (The Merchant of Venice), Anne Tyler’s Vinegar Girl (The Taming of the Shrew), and Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed (The Tempest). Forthcoming: Tracy Chevalier (Othello),Gillian Flynn (Hamlet), Jo Nesbo (Macbeth), and Edward St. Aubyn (King Lear).‘ – PRH Quote
In my hunt for an audiobook of reasonable length I discovered Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler on the Borrowbox App (via Cork City Libraries). I have not read any of the other books in the Hogarth collection but I am intrigued as the reviews seem to be rather mixed, however, I can say that I really enjoyed this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.
[ About Vinegar Girl ]
Kate Battista is stuck.
How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and infuriating younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.
Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost.
When Dr. Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to bring her around?
Anne Tyler’s brilliant retelling of The Taming of the Shrew asks whether a thoroughly modern woman like Kate would ever sacrifice herself for a man. The answer is as surprising as Kate herself.
[ My Review ]
Vinegar Girl by Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Tyler was published as part of The Hogarth Series by Vintage and is described as ‘an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies.’ The Hogarth Series marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. I listened to the Bolinda Edition read by Kirsten Potter. At less than six hours, Vinegar Girl was just the perfect accompaniment on the buses during this particularly wet start to 2026. Like many of you, the version of Shakespeare’s famous play that I am most familiar with is the 1967 movie featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. This contemporary retelling provides an alternative version of the classic that is both delightful and vivacious.
Kate Battista is closing in on her thirtieth birthday and feeling a little lost. Having bailed out of college she now works as a childcare assistant, a role she finds particularly tiresome and frustrating. At home she feels like a servant to her scientist father and her younger sister. Following the death of her mother years previously, much of the household chores fell to Kate and she feels under-appreciated and a little depressed.
Her father has an assistant, Pyotr, who has become invaluable to him, but there is a problem. Pyotr is in the US on a three-year visa. He will be deported in two months time unless something drastic happens. Dr. Battista has an idea, a plan, that to him seems quite logical, but he needs Kate’s cooperation. Kate has an explosive temper and is rightly furious at the suggestion presented to her. As the days pass, she is put under tremendous pressure by her father. His research is at a critical point, one that could bring his name back into the minds of academia and beyond but without Pyor, he tells Kate, all is lost.
As Kate struggles with her decision, she begins to be more aware of her own predicament and the life she inhabits. Considering her father’s request, she thinks of an alternative existence, a different life. But can she be persuaded to change her ways?
Anne Tyler has a very distinct style where the everyday becomes something more. There is no major surprise in Vinegar Girl as it is the retelling of a world renowned play, but Anne Tyler puts her own unique charming spin on it. With a wonderful cast of characters, all lovingly read by Kirsten Potter, Vinegar Girl is a light-hearted and highly enjoyable read. A winsome and quirky tale.
[ Bio ]
Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grown-ups, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Clock Dance, Redhead by the Side of the Road and French Braid.
In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as ‘the greatest novelist writing in English’; and in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. In 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize; and in 2020 Redhead by the Side of the Road was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Love the sound of this, as I really like the play and the old musical!
Nicki as an avid audiobook(er) I definitely think you’ll enjoy this one!
I will have to check out the movie, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. I read this back in high school, but don’t remember a lot. Thanks for sharing this, Mairéad, I will see if my library has the audiobook.
Carla I had never read the original but I really enjoyed this one. I know it’s a contemporary slightly alternative retelling but it really is delightful. Thank you!