I have always loved reading or watching spin-offs from and reworkings of my favourite books and plays. When they are done with imagination and zest, they provide a threefold enjoyment.
First of all, we engage with the new version on its own terms. We don’t need to know the original work, we can just enjoy a good novel or a good film or a good musical.
However, if we happen to know the original, there is further pleasure to be had from spotting allusions and references and contemplating the choices and changes made by the contemporary author.
