Fools and Mortals
Fools and Mortals – Bernard Cornwell
The premise, a prodigious author of historical fiction produces a story about Shakespeare, from a younger brother’s perspective.
“What is it about the playhouse that turns men and women into quivering puppies? All we do is pretend. We tell stories. Yet after the play the audience lingers at the tiring-house door wanting to see us, wanting to talk to us as if we are saints whose very touch could cure their sickness.” Page 40.
That is the magic of theater.
The Comedy of Errors as a play within the story, how fitting. Got high hopes of seeing Comedy of Errors — again — so that is still somewhat fresh in mind.
Silly Shakespeare fan-boys like myself? While I’m not great reader of historical fiction as a genre, this one does set its tone well.
- Is she kind as she is fair?
- For beauty lives with kindness.
Two Gentlemen of Verona (4.2.40-1)
Does quoting a quote in the book count?
While a working understanding of several plays isn’t required, it doesn’t hurt as it fleshes out the book’s story, the backdrop being Midummer’s Night’s Dream, which is usually a crowd pleaser.
Fools and Mortals
Solid research, good story, fun to read. Research notes were almost a quarter of the volume. I just parsed through those, as most of the data is the common material, what scant factual knowledge is known about the person William Shakespeare. Fools and Mortals was an excellent little romp. Relatively digestible, and really, to me, fun.
Fools and Mortals
Fools and Mortals – Bernard Cornwell