Genre: History/Mystery
Description:
Clayton Lovell’s partner goes on a sudden
research trip to the UK and is murdered there. She leaves him a clue as to why
she has been killed. She has stumbled upon something that has the potential to
rewrite Elizabethan history. There are those who desire very much to benefit
from what she has found. And others who believe the world is better served by
the status quo. Lovell follows her to London, Oxford and Stratford upon Avon.
Author:
Bruce Hutchison has several novels and a non-fiction
book on the market all of which investigate his thesis regarding Shakespeare.
There is also information on his website.
Appraisal:
The wraparound which Hutchison has used to
enable him to develop his thesis regarding Shakespeare provides an exciting aura
of conspiracy and violence through which the historical facts and
extrapolations are woven. If you are not familiar with the several theories
regarding the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, and such conundrums
appeal to you, then this is an intriguing and informative read, especially
towards the end.
Each of the 73 chapters in Hutchison’s book
is preceded by an epigraph in the form of a short quote from Shakespeare’s
oeuvre. The function of an epigraph is to act as a summary, introduction
or example from some famous literary work so as to draw a comparison, or to
generate a specific context for what follows. Often
these are too anodyne to do that. A number of the epigraphs are misquoted.
There are some howlers. ‘Lord Cecil
Burghley’ is actually William Cecil, Lord Burghley. A burial 392 years ago
would have been made in 1626. Not a useful date for any Shakespearean enquiry I
can think of. The ‘Charwell’ river which flows through Oxford is actually the
Cherwell. There are others.
Hutchison is, perhaps, unfortunate that I
picked up this book. I am a British writer and historian with a keen interest
in Shakespeare and Elizabethan England. That being the case, of course I would
pick this off BigAl’s virtual shelf for review.
Like Hutchison, I don’t believe for a moment
that the glover William Shakespeare of Stratford upon Avon wrote the plays ascribed
to him. Over many years a number of notables have felt the same way, including
Americans Mark Twain, Henry James and Charlie Chaplin. On this side of the Pond
a current advocate for alternative authorship is Mark Rylance, erstwhile
director of The Globe Theatre in London and one of our finest contemporary
actors. Could Hutchison’s theory possibly be correct? There is, unfortunately,
a fair-sized elephant in the room that he doesn’t address. And so, the debate
continues.
FYI:
One very violent scene.
Format/Typo
Issues:
A number of typos. Also some muddiness of
expression, non sequiturs, confusing continuity, and unhelpful formatting,
particularly of the epigraph quotations at the head of each chapter. This
complex book would be easier for the reader if an editor had been through it.
Rating: ***
Three Stars
Reviewed
by: Judi Moore
Approximate
word count: 90-95,000 words
No comments:
Post a Comment