jacket or maybe it was a review I read. I don’t remember how I knew but I knew it was inspired by Dickens’s David Copperfield before I started reading Demon Copperhead.
and I don’t think it mattered that I had never read David Copperfield, in case anyone is wondering whether they need to read one before the other. I’ve read enough Charles Dickens to know that he knew how to write about poverty.
No, it didn’t matter, in the way that not knowing Sons of Anarchy is based on Hamlet wouldn’t really affect a viewer’s experience of that show. But it does potentially add another level of understanding for some readers.
I did not know that about Sons of Anarchy 😉 and haven’t watched that show yet but it sounds interesting. And to your point, I totally agree — absolutely, the more we read, the more references we understand, the richer the reading experience is of many books. But they can also be enjoyed without as much literary background. We all have to start someplace and nobody can read everything. It is a perk for lifelong readers that, as we age, our reading experience gets richer.