AUSTEN And what happened to you, Mr. Wilde? You did not arrive home until this morning.
WILDE Oh, I met Kit Marlowe, Will's friend. A terribly exciting person, though perhaps overly fond of conspiracy theories. He told me at length about how Queen Elizabeth had implanted a microchip in his brain, though he declined to explain what a microchip is. I can only
suppose it is some sort of strangely interesting train of thought.
AUSTEN I am reminded-where is Mr. Shakespeare this morning?
WILDE It is unlike him to go un-noticed for so long.
AUSTEN He's not in the living room. Mr. Shakespeare! We would speak with you!
Two sets of footsteps throughout the following.
WILDE William! Where are you?
AUSTEN Mr. Shakespeare, you are causing us some concern!
Ha ha ha, I want to live with Chaucer for a week!!
I'm suspicious of this competition like, surely it can't be universal? Every single author has agreed just in case the winner decides they'd like to live with that person.
Posted by vicki On Friday, December 15, 2006 at 5:58 AM
A woman claiming to be Peter's long-lost daughter, Skylar, turned out to be an impostor of many disguises named Kit Marlowe, who was running from a devious Eastern billionaire, Roland Saunders. His life came to an end when Kit offered him a poisoned cigar moments before Peter fatally struck him on the head with a wrench.
While the title hints at a story along the lines of Beauty and the Beast, this novel is anything but.
Set toward the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it deals with the persecution of the Catholics, the Hollanders, and the players.
Running from this persecution, Rosalind Archer and her brother Robin are looking for a way to survive. "We must survive.... We must go to their churches, take part in their plays, and keep the truth in our hearts." Every part of their lives is a secret.
Christopher Marlowe is a moody playwright who needs a good scribe. Rosalind, disguised as Richard, Robin's brother, has excellent penmanship, while Robin joins the group of players.
Working for Marlowe, Rosalind finds that she is not the only one hiding a secret. Marlowe's secret alliances and clandestine meetings add an air of mystery to the book.
> AUSTEN > And what happened to you, Mr. Wilde? You did not arrive home until this > morning.
> WILDE > Oh, I met Kit Marlowe, Will's friend. A terribly exciting person, > though perhaps overly fond of conspiracy theories. He told me at length > about how Queen Elizabeth had implanted a microchip in his brain, > though he declined to explain what a microchip is. I can only
> suppose it is some sort of strangely interesting train of thought.
> AUSTEN > I am reminded-where is Mr. Shakespeare this morning?
> WILDE > It is unlike him to go un-noticed for so long.
> AUSTEN > He's not in the living room. Mr. Shakespeare! We would speak with > you!
> Two sets of footsteps throughout the following.
> WILDE > William! Where are you?
> AUSTEN > Mr. Shakespeare, you are causing us some concern!
> Ha ha ha, I want to live with Chaucer for a week!!
> I'm suspicious of this competition like, surely it can't be universal? > Every single author has agreed just in case the winner decides they'd > like to live with that person.
> Posted by vicki On Friday, December 15, 2006 at 5:58 AM
That didn't stop Dad from continuing to work. His pet project was correcting timeline tampering by French revisionists. This often involved keeping certain historical figures out of harm's way by letting them stay with Mum for a while. As I said, the company at the dinner table often made dinner an eventful meal. Such was the case this particular night when I found myself sitting between my uncle Mycroft and Christopher Marlowe.
"So Kit," my brother, the Irreverent Joffy Next, said as he passed the mashed potatoes to Miles to pass it on to Aunt Polly. "Why did you produce so few plays? Compared to Will Shakespeare, I mean."
I may have, at that point, shuffled slightly away from Kit Marlowe, expecting a rather raucous retaliation. His temper, however, didn't flare like I expected and he responded quite politely, "Poetry is my focus." The calmness of his voice made it hard to believe that he would eventually die in a bar fight. Perhaps it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, as Dad insisted, French revisionists.
Personally, I think he was probably rambunctuous when alcohol was brought into the equation.
"The Secret of the Rose" by Sarah L. Thomson I spent all day today reading. I picked it up and couldn't put it down again. It's aimed at a bit of a younger set than "Octavian Nothing", but it's still very good. I liked it most because after Revolutionary America and Victorian England, Elizabethan England is my favorite historical period. It's about a girl named Rosalind who winds up in London with her brother after their father is arrested for being a Catholic. The two of them find themselves at the Rose Theater, and Rosalind (dressed as a boy), becomes Kit Marlowe's secretary. The plot revolves around the theory that Marlowe was a spy for Queen Elizabeth. It's much simpler than "Octavian Nothing", but it has some passages that tug your heartstrings. Another element to its credit is the characterization, especially of Rosalind--getting into the head of a girl growing up in the 1590's. Also, Thomson did a good job with the period language. The story just kind of meanders, but it really didn't matter. Its merits more than make up for its minor faults.
They're both young adult fiction. Really, I think some of the best historical fiction (actually, some of the best general fiction) out there is what's being written for teenagers, especially the books aimed at the 14 and older set. I'd say that both of these books fall into that category...maybe "Secret of the Rose" would be enjoyable for someone a bit younger, but M.T. Anderson's work is better suited for older teens (or people in their early twenties.
> A woman claiming to be Peter's long-lost daughter, Skylar, turned out > to be an impostor of many disguises named Kit Marlowe, who was running > from a devious Eastern billionaire, Roland Saunders. His life came to > an end when Kit offered him a poisoned cigar moments before Peter > fatally struck him on the head with a wrench.
> Book Review For Young Readers By Lauren Schmidt:
> The Secret of the Rose
> By Sarah L. Thomson
> Greenwillow/ Hardcover/ $16.99/ 296 pp
> Ages 10 and up
> While the title hints at a story along the lines of Beauty and the > Beast, this novel is anything but.
> Set toward the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it deals with the > persecution of the Catholics, the Hollanders, and the players.
> Running from this persecution, Rosalind Archer and her brother Robin > are looking for a way to survive. "We must survive.... We must go to > their churches, take part in their plays, and keep the truth in our > hearts." Every part of their lives is a secret.
> Christopher Marlowe is a moody playwright who needs a good scribe. > Rosalind, disguised as Richard, Robin's brother, has excellent > penmanship, while Robin joins the group of players.
> Working for Marlowe, Rosalind finds that she is not the only one hiding > a secret. Marlowe's secret alliances and clandestine meetings add an > air of mystery to the book.
I've just finished reading a book I picked up in Cambridge called The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe. I've always loved Kit Marlowe and the stories and conspiracies around him; one of the best college plays I ever saw was a take on his Faust, done with 1930s clothes and a very dark theme song (the Garbage song from Romeo and Juliet done only with sax and bass).
Anyway, this is Charles Nicholl's attempt to find as much as information as he can about the people who were actually present at Marlowe's death (Frizer, Skeres and Poley), their various connections and dealings iin life, and make some sense of them. He's also found as much information as he can about Marlowe and his possible/probable spying efforts.
There is a lot of information gathered here. Some of it at least may have been more suited to a book on spies in Elizabethan times, which I still would have read anyway, although I can see the point of including most of it here - good background, shows just what sort of people were involved, and lends weight to Nicholl's idea that it wasnt just a drunken brawl over the bill that left Marlowe with a dagger in his eye.
I'm not entirely convinced by Nicholl's final ideas, which is that Marlowe was being set up in order to discredit Walter Raleigh (who was indeed jailed for treason about a decade later - Marlowe was killed in 1593). Marlowe's connections to Raleigh seemed a bit tenuous, and even more so did the reasons for wanting to bring Raleigh down. Maybe I am too straight-forward a thinker that I can't get my head around the convolutions that seemed to be involved in Elizabethan politics (and probably are today, in the murkier side of things).
I enjoyed it as a book. It's easy to read, although I got lost a few times trying to keep up with who was who and how they were connected, although Nicholls does a fair job of keeping the reader up to speed with little reminders about info that has come before, which was most welcome. As I said, not entirely convinced that Raleigh was ultimately the reason for his death, but I am definitely willing to believe that there was some dastardly conspiracy behind it all.
On a related note, the last board you read as go out of the Globe in London is about the whole Shakespeare and authorship issue. Marlowe is, of course, mentioned... and there are leaflets for the Marlowe Society next to the board. I love that.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 4:14 pm and is filed under General, Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
> That didn't stop Dad from continuing to work. His pet project was > correcting timeline tampering by French revisionists. This often > involved keeping certain historical figures out of harm's way by > letting them stay with Mum for a while. As I said, the company at the > dinner table often made dinner an eventful meal. Such was the case this > particular night when I found myself sitting between my uncle Mycroft > and Christopher Marlowe.
> "So Kit," my brother, the Irreverent Joffy Next, said as he passed the > mashed potatoes to Miles to pass it on to Aunt Polly. "Why did you > produce so few plays? Compared to Will Shakespeare, I mean."
> I may have, at that point, shuffled slightly away from Kit Marlowe, > expecting a rather raucous retaliation. His temper, however, didn't > flare like I expected and he responded quite politely, "Poetry is my > focus." The calmness of his voice made it hard to believe that he would > eventually die in a bar fight. Perhaps it was just a case of being in > the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, as Dad insisted, French > revisionists.
> Personally, I think he was probably rambunctuous when alcohol was > brought into the equation.
> "The Secret of the Rose" by Sarah L. Thomson I spent all day today > reading. I picked it up and couldn't put it down again. It's aimed at > a bit of a younger set than "Octavian Nothing", but it's still very > good. I liked it most because after Revolutionary America and > Victorian England, Elizabethan England is my favorite historical > period. It's about a girl named Rosalind who winds up in London with > her brother after their father is arrested for being a Catholic. The > two of them find themselves at the Rose Theater, and Rosalind (dressed > as a boy), becomes Kit Marlowe's secretary. The plot revolves around > the theory that Marlowe was a spy for Queen Elizabeth. It's much > simpler than "Octavian Nothing", but it has some passages that tug > your heartstrings. Another element to its credit is the > characterization, especially of Rosalind--getting into the head of a > girl growing up in the 1590's. Also, Thomson did a good job with the > period language. The story just kind of meanders, but it really didn't > matter. Its merits more than make up for its minor faults.
> They're both young adult fiction. Really, I think some of the best > historical fiction (actually, some of the best general fiction) out > there is what's being written for teenagers, especially the books > aimed at the 14 and older set. I'd say that both of these books fall > into that category...maybe "Secret of the Rose" would be enjoyable for > someone a bit younger, but M.T. Anderson's work is better suited for > older teens (or people in their early twenties.
Here are the other February 6 babies - well, okay, they're not babies anymore, in fact many of them have already gone on to meet their maker.
I couldn't decide whether to go in chronological or alphabetical order so I flipped a coin - chronological won, plus, I get to present one of my favorite historical characters first.
1564 saw the birth of English Dramatist Christopher "Kit" Marlowe. This is the man William Shakespeare was most influenced by. Shakespeare's cadence and style borrowed heavily from Marlowe who, until Shakespeare came around, was the most popular author and playwright in England. The reason I have always given Marlowe a lot of accolades was because of his audacity. One of his final plays - perhaps even his very last - was "The Massacre at Paris". What made this play so audacious was because he used contemporary characters, including Elizabeth I. The basis of the play was the actual St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris, where Catholics took to the streets of Paris and the countryside and murdered well over two- thousand Huguenots.
One of the characters in the play was called the "English Agent". It is believed this character - who remained silent throughout the production - was based on Marlowe himself and it is also possible that Marlowe took the role in the initial production. There was a lot of speculation that Marlowe himself was a secret agent for the Queen. The Catholics despised Marlowe after the release of the play and many wanted him arrested for treason for daring to include the Queen in his production. This never happened, however, one evening while drinking with some fellow secret agents, Marlowe got into a dispute over the tab and was stabbed above the eye. He died swearing. The play everyone knows from Marlowe was the first dramatic depiction of the tale of Dr. Faust and the Devil. Marowe translated the book into English and rewrote it as "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus".
> I've just finished reading a book I picked up in Cambridge called The > Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe. I've always loved Kit > Marlowe and the stories and conspiracies around him; one of the best > college plays I ever saw was a take on his Faust, done with 1930s > clothes and a very dark theme song (the Garbage song from Romeo and > Juliet done only with sax and bass).
> Anyway, this is Charles Nicholl's attempt to find as much as > information as he can about the people who were actually present at > Marlowe's death (Frizer, Skeres and Poley), their various connections > and dealings iin life, and make some sense of them. He's also found as > much information as he can about Marlowe and his possible/probable > spying efforts.
> There is a lot of information gathered here. Some of it at least may > have been more suited to a book on spies in Elizabethan times, which I > still would have read anyway, although I can see the point of > including most of it here - good background, shows just what sort of > people were involved, and lends weight to Nicholl's idea that it wasnt > just a drunken brawl over the bill that left Marlowe with a dagger in > his eye.
> I'm not entirely convinced by Nicholl's final ideas, which is that > Marlowe was being set up in order to discredit Walter Raleigh (who was > indeed jailed for treason about a decade later - Marlowe was killed in > 1593). Marlowe's connections to Raleigh seemed a bit tenuous, and even > more so did the reasons for wanting to bring Raleigh down. Maybe I am > too straight-forward a thinker that I can't get my head around the > convolutions that seemed to be involved in Elizabethan politics (and > probably are today, in the murkier side of things).
> I enjoyed it as a book. It's easy to read, although I got lost a few > times trying to keep up with who was who and how they were connected, > although Nicholls does a fair job of keeping the reader up to speed > with little reminders about info that has come before, which was most > welcome. As I said, not entirely convinced that Raleigh was ultimately > the reason for his death, but I am definitely willing to believe that > there was some dastardly conspiracy behind it all.
> On a related note, the last board you read as go out of the Globe in > London is about the whole Shakespeare and authorship issue. Marlowe > is, of course, mentioned... and there are leaflets for the Marlowe > Society next to the board. I love that.
> This entry was posted on Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 4:14 pm and is > filed under General, Books. You can follow any responses to this entry > through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from > your own site.
In "Heart of Whitenesse," which Waldrop himself seems to view as his most compacted and densely allusive work, Christopher Marlowe is sent up the frozen Thames on a secret mission to kill Dr. Faustus. Following a few preliminaries, it opens:
"I'd come up from the covers and poured myself a cup of malmsey you could have drowned a pygmy in, then dressed as best I could, and made my way out into this cold world.
"Shoreditch was dismal in the best of times, and this wasn't it."
> Happy Birthday to a lot of people - including me!
> Here are the other February 6 babies - well, okay, they're not babies > anymore, in fact many of them have already gone on to meet their > maker.
> I couldn't decide whether to go in chronological or alphabetical order > so I flipped a coin - chronological won, plus, I get to present one of > my favorite historical characters first.
> 1564 saw the birth of English Dramatist Christopher "Kit" Marlowe. > This is the man William Shakespeare was most influenced by. > Shakespeare's cadence and style borrowed heavily from Marlowe who, > until Shakespeare came around, was the most popular author and > playwright in England. The reason I have always given Marlowe a lot of > accolades was because of his audacity. One of his final plays - > perhaps even his very last - was "The Massacre at Paris". What made > this play so audacious was because he used contemporary characters, > including Elizabeth I. The basis of the play was the actual St. > Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris, where Catholics took to the > streets of Paris and the countryside and murdered well over two- > thousand Huguenots.
> One of the characters in the play was called the "English Agent". It > is believed this character - who remained silent throughout the > production - was based on Marlowe himself and it is also possible that > Marlowe took the role in the initial production. There was a lot of > speculation that Marlowe himself was a secret agent for the Queen. The > Catholics despised Marlowe after the release of the play and many > wanted him arrested for treason for daring to include the Queen in his > production. This never happened, however, one evening while drinking > with some fellow secret agents, Marlowe got into a dispute over the > tab and was stabbed above the eye. He died swearing. The play everyone > knows from Marlowe was the first dramatic depiction of the tale of Dr. > Faust and the Devil. Marowe translated the book into English and > rewrote it as "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus".
> February 6th is Kit Marlowe's 443rd !birthday. (That's "birthday, > implied.") As with Shakespeare, we have only an approximation of the > actual date.
> Next year is the 444th anniversary of both men's birth. I have > something special planned, but it might arrive a month or two late.
