11. Did Beatrice and Benedick’s ‘merry war of wit’ lose them a year of married life? Or did they need to be apart before they could be together?
12. Consider the characters of Don Pedro and Claudio. Which one do you prefer? Do either of them find redemption?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As I am of Northern Italian provenance, I was a little nervous of Sicily and ‘The South’, and could not have imagined the wonderful welcome and invaluable assistance I encountered on that matchless island. I made friends for life, and, like Beatrice, I will always return.
Thank you to Katharine Dix at the exquisite Hotel Villa Angela in Taormina, who tirelessly arranged my trips to Syracuse and Messina.
Thanks also to Angelo Greco, from The Magic of Sicily, who took me up to the summit of Etna, and also to his cousin’s farm – where my children picked oranges – and to his friend’s olive press (and his other friend’s bar!)
In Palermo, I must thank the Argento family, the members of which have run a jewel of a puppet theatre in the shadow of the duomo for hundreds of years. They very kindly let me poke around backstage, and even hold and operate one of the puppets, a martial fellow who was nearly as tall as me!
Also in Palermo, I am grateful to Francesca Sommatino from the University of Palermo, who spent an afternoon showing me round the Palazzo Chiaramonte, which houses the cells which the victims of the Inquisition decorated with wonderful drawings during their imprisonment.
Closer to home, I am indebted as ever to my wonderful editor Kate Parkin at Hodder, who is always there to gently nudge me back on track when I show signs of wandering off! And I owe my eternal gratitude to my agent Teresa Chris, who guides me as surely as Beatrice’s star.
Also at Hodder thanks must go to Swati Gamble for getting the final manuscript into shape, and Emilie Ferguson for spreading the word about Beatrice & Benedick.
Of the books that I read in the course of my research one above all deserves a mention – Richard Paul Roe’s The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard’s Unknown Travels (Harper Perennial 2011) is a fascinating analysis of the geography and cultural detail of Shakespeare’s Italian plays.
I have watched many wonderful performances of Much Ado About Nothing over the years, but the one I referred to most in the process of my writing was the Branagh/Thompson film (Kenneth Branagh 1993), which remains, for me, the definitive filmed version.
I must thank my brother-in-law Richard Brown, who knows more about seafaring than most books.
Thank you to my children; Conrad (‘I am a gentleman, sir, and my name is Conrad.’ – Much Ado IV ii) and Ruby, who never mind being dragged around churches and palaces so long as there is a gelato at the end of it.
And finally I will end this book as I began it, with a dedication to Sacha. I share my settebello with you.
Also by Marina Fiorato
The Venetian Bargain
The Daughter of Siena
The Botticelli Secret
The Glassblower of Murano
About the Author
© Ian Pickard
Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian and a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as an historical source. She has worked as an illustrator, an actress, and a film reviewer, and designed tour visuals for rock bands including U2 and the Rolling Stones. Her historical fiction includes the Venetian Bargain, The Daughter of Siena, The Botticelli Secret, and her debut novel, The Glassblower of Murano, which was an international bestseller. She was married on the Grand Canal in Venice, and now lives in London with her family. You can sign up for author updates here.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Dramatis Personae
ACT ONE
Act I scene i
Act I scene ii
Act I scene iii
Act I scene iv
Act I scene v
ACT TWO
Act II scene i
Act II scene ii
Act II scene iii
Act II scene iv
Act II scene v
Act II scene vi
Act II scene vii
ACT THREE
Act III scene i
Act III scene ii
Act III scene iii
Act III scene iv
Act III scene v
Act III scene vi
Act III scene vii
Act III scene viii
Act III scene ix
Act III scene x
Act III scene xi
Act III scene xii
ACT FOUR
Act IV scene i
Act IV scene ii
Act IV scene iii
Act IV scene iv
Act IV scene v
Act IV scene vi
Act IV scene vii
Act IV scene viii
Act IV scene ix
Act IV scene x
Act IV scene xi
Act IV scene xii
Act IV scene xiii
Act IV scene xiv
Act IV scene xv
Act IV scene xvi
ACT FIVE
Act V scene i
Act V scene ii
Act V scene iii
Act V scene iv
Act V scene v
Act V scene vi
Act V scene vii
Act V scene viii
Act V scene ix
Act V scene x
Act V scene xi
Appendix
Author’s Note
A Reading Group Guide
Acknowledgements
Also by Marina Fiorato
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BEATRICE AND BENEDICK. Copyright © 2014 by Marina Fiorato. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fiorato, Marina.
Beatrice and Benedick / Marina Fiorato. — First U.S. edition.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-4668-8898-2
1. Italy—Social life and customs—16th century—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History—Tudors, 1485–1603—Fiction. 3. Armada, 1588—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6106.I67B43 2015
823’.92—dc23
2015029696
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton, an Hachette UK company
First U.S. Edition: December 2015
Beatrice and Benedick Page 40