Jane Smiley’s ‘A Thousand Acres’ is a modern take on ‘King Lear’, set in rural Iowa, where ageing farmer Larry Cook decides to divide his thousand-acre farm among his three daughters: Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. What starts as a seemingly generous act quickly stirs up old tensions, especially when Caroline hesitates to accept. Meanwhile, Ginny and Rose, who have spent their lives working the land, take on the overwhelming responsibility of running the farm alongside their husbands. As their father’s behaviour grows more erratic, the cracks in their family dynamic widen, revealing the unspoken struggles that have shaped their lives.

Told through Ginny’s eyes, the novel explores the complex relationships between the sisters, their father, and the men around them. The return of Jess Clark, a childhood acquaintance with a mysterious past, adds another layer of tension, stirring emotions and complicating already fragile loyalties. As the story unfolds, long-buried secrets come to light, forcing Ginny and Rose to reevaluate everything they thought they knew about their family and themselves. The farm, once a symbol of tradition and security, becomes a place of conflict, betrayal, and painful reckoning.With rich storytelling and sharp insight, ‘A Thousand Acres’ explores themes of family, power, and the weight of the past. Smiley brings the Midwestern landscape to life, capturing both its quiet beauty and the isolation that comes with it. Like Edward St Aubyn’s ‘Dunbar’, set in the world of high finance, Smiley shifts the focus from the father’s downfall to the daughters’ struggles, giving voice to characters often overshadowed in Shakespeare’s original. What 'Dunbar' also reveals, is that retellings of Shakespeare's plays, like 'A Thousand Acres', not only speak to today's lived experience but they are also very accessible, regardless of whether you have read the original play.

Please join us to share your thoughts and opinions about ‘A Thousand Acres’ at our next virtual reading group session on Thursday 24th April 5-6pm. To take part in our February reading group session, please contact Karen on K.Lipsedge@Kingston.ac.uk

Kingston University Reading Group welcomes all staff and students. It was created in 2016 as a means of facilitating discussion and encouraging new perspectives on race and identity. The project falls under the umbrella of the University's Race Equality Charter Mark and helps to promote racial equality as well as excellence in teaching and learning.

The project has built on the success of Kingston University's Big Read, launched in 2015, which has received national praise for using shared reading to achieve effective collaboration across communities.

The Kingston University Reading Group runs regular sessions for various Kingston University staff and student groups, community organisations and local schools and colleges. We would like to thank KU’s Library Services and AP&I (students) team for their ongoing support, and the KU Big Read, for the collaboration opportunities.

We aim to:

- Offer a platform for all staff and students to raise and engage on equality, diversity, and inclusion issues.

- Facilitate discussion on challenging subjects and encourage new perspectives.

- Foster collaboration across the whole of the University as well as with the wider community.