In 1589, on behalf of his patrons Leicester and Walsingham, Dr. Lopez presented Don Antonio’s cause to Queen Elizabeth. The Queen consented to aid Don Antonio’s bid for the Portuguese crown by sending English forces—headed by Sir John Norris and Sir Francis Drake—to the Iberian shores. This invasion to liberate Portugal from Spanish rule ended in dismal failure, leaving Lopez with much to explain to Her Majesty. Eventually, he found his way back into royal favor, and a year after England’s military defeat, he broke off with Don Antonio. Lopez then began working covertly with King Philip of Spain for peace between his nation and Spain.
Lopez had also worked closely with Manuel de Andrada in furthering the cause of Don Antonio. It was de Andrada who gave Lopez the indicting ruby and diamond ring in 1591. Lopez did offer it to the Queen, and she refused to take it, perhaps after learning about its origins. Meanwhile, de Andrada had shown himself to be an untrustworthy man, not only to his former master Don Antonio, but to England as well. Eventually Lord Burghley placed de Andrada under house arrest in Lopez’s home in 1592. But a year later, de Andrada escaped to the Low Countries, never to be heard from again. It was de Andrada who first suggested Lopez’s willingness to poison Don Antonio for King Philip of Spain. But the veracity of this indictment remains in doubt.
Nevertheless, Lopez was arrested in January 1594, accused of plotting to poison the Queen and planning to destroy and burn England’s warships. Lord Essex was the driving wind behind Lopez’s arrest, levying treasonous charges against Lopez in a letter written to his spymaster, Antony Bacon. Lopez was tried at Guildhall, the evidence against him a ring given to him by the King of Spain, correspondence written by de Andrada that mentioned Lopez’s willingness to poison Don Antonio for King Philip, and a mysterious letter that spoke of the purchase price of pearls, musk, and amber. These cryptic words were eventually interpreted by the trial committee. Pearls meant Lopez’s price for poisoning the Queen, the musk and amber, the price of burning the ships. Dr. Lopez was hung and quartered at Tyburn in June 1594.
In all probability, Lopez was innocent of the charges against him. However, correspondence with the King of Spain showed Lopez to have been a shrewd negotiator, a keen politician, and an expert in the methods of poisoning. As for Lord Essex, his political ambitions finally proved too much for Elizabeth. He was found guilty of treason and beheaded in February 1601.
The Lopez case attracted the attention of England’s masses and its anti-Jewish ramifications captured the interest of London’s playwrights. Many Shakespearean scholars believe Dr. Lopez was the prototype for Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. It has even been suggested that Shylock’s traditional red beard emanated from Richard Burbage’s personal knowledge of Dr. Lopez’s appearance. (They both had been in the service of the Earl of Leicester.) The Merchant of Venice has been carefully scanned for allusions to Lopez and some have been found. For example: Act IV, scene i, lines 130–140, contains references to Shylock as a wolf. In Latin, wolf is Lupes, hence Lopez. Similarly, the name of Shylock’s chief rival is Antonio. Does this refer to Don Antonio, Lopez’s enemy at the time of his execution? If allusions are looked for, allusions will be found. Only Shakespeare knew what he had in mind.
About the Author
FAYE KELLERMAN introduced L.A. cop Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, to the mystery world nineteen years ago. Since then she has published fifteen Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Forgotten and Stalker. She is also the author of Moon Music, a contemporary thriller set in Las Vegas, and The Quality of Mercy, an historical novel of Elizabethan England. Ms. Kellerman lives in California with her husband, noted author Jonathan Kellerman, and their four children, three dogs, and fish too numerous to count.
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Also by Faye Kellerman
RITUAL BATH
SACRED AND PROFANE
THE QUALITY OF MERCY
MILK AND HONEY
DAY OF ATONEMENT
FALSE PROPHET
GRIEVOUS SIN
SANCTUARY
JUSTICE
PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD
SERPENT’S TOOTH
MOON MUSIC
JUPITER’S BONES
STALKER
And in Hardcover
THE FORGOTTEN
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE QUALITY OF MERCY. Copyright © 1989 by Faye Kellerman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © JUNE 2007 ISBN: 9780061864889
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