by David Blixt
I also have Dante growing a long beard, something his contemporaries say he had, but some modern scholars deny vehemently (who cares?). And I spell his name wrong. Alighieri is the Florentine spelling of the name. But after he was exiled from Florence, why would he use their spelling? I have him returning to an earlier variation of the name, and Pietro, ever the obedient son, does likewise. I am always one for flouting expectations, and I find I'm in good company. Dante himself uses this spelling in his Epistle to Cangrande — specifically, 'Dantes Alagherii.' Of course, there is debate whether Dante himself wrote it. And on and on…
The historical Pietro is something of an enigma. There are a few facts, and great swathes of his own writing, but none on his early years. So I gave him a life that will surely be seen as ludicrous by the Dante set. All I can say in my own defence is, Dante would have done it. So would Shakespeare. They both loved a good story.
For all that I'm going to piss off the Dante brethren, my treatment of Shakespeare may well be worse. I'm not messing with the man, they're used to that. I'm screwing around with his work. To the lovers of the Bard, I say this — all my initial ideas came from Shakespeare's text. I never work to correct him, as other authors have done (quite well, in some cases). Unlike the historical Macbeth and Richard III, Romeo and Juliet were not real people in need of defense.
Besides, Shakespeare was something of a thief himself. He stole plots right and left — including the story of Romeo and Juliet. His talent was in taking old stories and breathing new life into them. In a way, I feel I am honoring the Bard by following in his thieving foot-steps.
A few notes on spelling. I've bastardized quite a bit of Italian, especially titles and honorifics. 'Why?' you ask. 'Why not use the correct titles?' Because I'm straddling two worlds: the real, and the Shakespearean. Shakespeare had his Italians call nearly everyone Signor, so I've turned that into Signore, and occasionally Monsignore. And for words like honour and armour, I've gone with the more British spellings. Because while Shakespeare never seems to have spelled his name the same way twice, and certainly the First Folio uses both, when the words were important he added that extra vowel.
For the various inspirations, as well as cut scenes and editorial debates, please visit my blog, www.themasterofverona.com, or my website, www.davidblixt.com. And for up-to-date news on these and other books, there's my Facebook author page.
A bit about names. Mariotto and Gianozza are both taken from Masuccio Salernitano's thirty-third novel from IL NOVELLINO, an early version of the R&J story involving secret marriages, deaths of kinsmen, and a young groom fleeing to Alexandria. The bride is then forced to marry against her will, but is given a draught by the Friar that makes her appear dead. Unfortunately the Friar's message detailing the plan is waylaid by pirates (shades of Shakespeare in Love!). The story plays out the same as R&J, except Gianozza flees to a convent in Sienna, where she dies. Pregnant, if I recall correctly.
The love scene between Mari and Gianozza in the church is my homage to Luigi da Porto's version, in which the lovers court each other in secret in Friar Lorenzo's church all through a long winter until they can resist their passion no longer.
The name Antony I also borrowed from da Porto, a native Vicentine. In his version of the story (the first to name the lovers Romeo and Giulietta), he mentions the young girl's father is called Antonio. Juliet's mom in that story was named Giovanna, but that was the name of Cangrande's wife. Besides, it's way too close to Gianozza, so we won't be running with that.
Most other characters I borrowed from Shakespeare or from history, or else extrapolated from family histories.
About Kate and Petruchio — a lark, but putting them in this tale was actually a textual choice based on two sets of lines in the party scene from R&J. A lovely in-joke for anyone who's seen Shrew, and thus we have our time frame between the two plays.
One historical caveat. I have, with a few exceptions, stayed true to chronological history, something Shakespeare himself would never have bothered with. That said, records indicate that Katerina della Scala was replaced by her husband with a new wife in 1306, by whom he had two sons. I assume Katerina was dead when he did this, though one can never be sure with these medieval Italians. But I chose instead to breathe life into her for a good while longer, giving Bailardino's second wife to his brother, Antonio Nogarola. In a moment of pure practicality, I have kept the two children of Bailardino and made them Katerina's own, conceived late in life.
There is another problem, this one having to do with what building was called what when. The current layout of the Piazza della Signoria is almost exactly what it was, except there have been so many façades added, so many rebuilds, that it is almost certainly nothing like what it was. I have blended the then with the now in my mind and, though it may be wrong, the square is at least clear in my head. I hope it is as clear to you.
As for the Scaliger himself, I wish to point out that all the great feats I have attributed to him are true. I've played with numbers of the enemies he faced, downsizing them from the tales that have grown over the centuries. But he did break the Paduan army in 1314 with less than a hundred men, he did appear in disguise in 1317, cheering the invading Paduan army on, only to fight them back minutes later. In short, Cangrande is one of those figures whose life is greater than fiction.
For an idea of what Cangrande's sword looks like, find Del Tin Armories online. Among the Italian sword-maker's exquisite reproductions is the sword that was unearthed when Cangrande was exhumed in the 1920s.
In a fit of silliness, I hid two Shakespeare-related anagrams in the text. Go drive yourself mad.
Those who have studied Shakespeare's sources will be critical of my choice of years. As stated above, Luigi da Porto, whose version of the story was penned in the early sixteenth Century, firmly places the events of the play between 1301 and 1304, during the reign of Bartolomeo della Scala, Cangrande's older brother. Working backward from there, the events of this book would have taken place about 1276. While this is a fascinating period in Veronese history, with such notable characters as Mastino della Scala (the first) and Ezzelino da Romano (the third), for me it lacked the drama of the fall of Verona. Verona reaches its greatest heights under Cangrande. That gives it so much farther to fall.
I claim da Porto was misinformed. The original feud between the Montecchi and the Capelletti was indeed buried in 1302, when Gargano Montecchio and his uncles slaughtered the last of the Capelletti in the Arena in Verona. But it flared up again in 1315, and did not die for another twenty-five years, when Verona lost everything it held dear. The tragedy of Shakespeare's play is not just the demise of the young lovers, but the death of every young knight in the city. The flower of Verona's youth is blighted in a single week. For Mari and Antony, it is indeed a plague on both their houses, but the scourge takes other lives as well. From the height that Cangrande lifts it to, Verona falls, never to rise again.
There's an old saying that a book is never finished, only published. This is certainly true for me. I was told in 2007 not to revisit the novel for at least two years. I went longer, only ever opening it to look for a particular reference or for public readings. Which means when it came time to release it again, I was coming to it almost fresh.
I discovered some wonderful and disturbing things:
1) I like the story.
2) I am a much better writer now than I was ten or even five years ago.
3) The St. Martin's typesetters were not particularly diligent.
4) There were things missing that I would have sworn I'd left in, that I had no recollection of cutting. Things I missed. Oh, very small moments — Manuel's poem before his song, talk about a horse's armor, the scene with Antonia and the scribes. Nothing that alters the plot, but it's those details that make historical fiction worth reading.
So I've embraced this miraculous opportunity to take another whack at the piñata. There are no significant changes whatsoever. But I hope those who read the older vers
ion are enjoying this new one even more. It is, in my opinion, simply a better read.
The best question to ask an author is, "Who do you read?" Lately I'm reading less and less fiction, but the current writers I always follow are MJ Rose, CW Gortner, Michelle Moran, as well as Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Carroll. My inspirations are Dorothy Dunnett, Bernard Cornwell, Colleen McCullough, and Raphael Sabatini. Have at!
To my editor, Michael Denneny, I owe more than I can say. His initial words had a profound impact on me, the kind of thing that you carry with you the rest of your career. He told me that I had confused 'what a writer needs to know to write the book with what a reader needs to know to read the book — which is much less.' Setting aside his professional skills, his enthusiasm for the story spurred me just when I had stalled. Thanks, Michael. Also thanks to Keith Kahla at St. Martin's Press for having me reimagine the opening chapter.
Early readers were vital. The gifted playwright and heart breaking actress Kristine Thatcher was the second to read the book, and her excitement carried me through the end of the first year. That year I had the joy of sharing a stage with Mike Nussbaum, popcorn fiend and actor par excellence. He kept pestering me backstage to finish the second draft, and thank God he did. Also big thanks to Jeremy Anderson, actor and writer, who trod the boards in the production of R&J where all this was dreamed up. He swore he 'couldn't put the damn thing down.'
For their support, I have so many friends to thank. The Michigan contingent, where all this started, includes Jeff, Nona, Jason, Dennis, Gabe, Pat, and Paulie. In Chicago, where the bulk of the writing and all the waiting was done, I found Tara, Gwen, Ben, Breon, and Page, among others. Then there's my friend, Broadway superstar Rick Sordelet. Rarely have I been so blessed.
I must express gratitude to every cast of R&J I've ever worked with — among them, Greenhills High School, the Shadow Theatre Company, the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Arts Lane, the First Folio Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and A Crew of Patches.
Big thanks to Dave 'Pops' Doersch for introducing me to the wild world of stage combat, not to mention the production of R&J he directed. For him, of course, this book was 'so simple a monkey could do it.'
My parents, Al and Jill, are inspiring role models as well as tireless supporters of the arts. They gave me a unique gift in raising me as they did, and I am ever grateful. My brother Andrew has taught me how to be open to the whole world. And the new maps for the series were done by my mother. Thanks, Mom!
My son Dashiell came onto the scene in April 2006, as the edits for this book were under way. In fact, we had just found out about him when the novel sold. As Mike Nussbaum says, babies bring good things. Thanks, Dash.
Our daughter Evie was born eleven months after the first edition of this book, just as the paperback was coming out. Again, babies bring good things.
Saving the finest for last, we arrive at my best friend: my love, my wife, Janice. The unofficial coauthor of this book, she set aside her own work to listen to me read whole chapters at a time. I don't know how many times she's read it — more than I have, I'll bet. Armed with red, green, and black pens, she settled in and, like a surgeon with a scalpel, excised sections I was too lily-livered to cut myself, and she kept me from doing dumb things like starting at the ending just because I was bored.
Jan, cara mia, you are my friend, partner, fellow conspirator, and love. I breathe you.
The next book is entitled VOICE OF THE FALCONER.
Ave,
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Dramatis Personae
Maps
Prologue
Act I: The Area
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Act II: The Horse Palio
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Act III: The Duel
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Act IV: The Exiles
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Act V: The Feud
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Epilogue
Post Script