Wise Children is a novel published in 1991 by the English author Angela Carter. The novel was the author’s last one as she started writing it after she was diagnosed with cancer. Angela Carter died just a year later at the age of 51. Angela Carter is usually associated with magical realism and her for a number of years she was considered as being one of the most influential English writers.
Angela Carter was deeply influenced by Shakespeare and in Wise children the influence can be seen clearly. The major characters of the novel are two twin sisters named Dora and Nora and throughout the novel they present their past, various incestuous relationships in their family and explore how they were affected by their father’s absence and his unwillingness to accept the girls as his biological children.
There are many references made to other novels written by Angela Carter and also to various Shakespearian plays including A Midsummer’s Night Dream. In fact, the book is written in the same style as A Midsummer’s Night Dream accentuating even further the fact that the author was deeply influenced by Shakespeare.
