Where The People Fought Back

Fuente Ovejuna by Lope de Vega
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a surprisingly readable play (in English translation), and I enjoyed reading it. I expected to have to plow through it with little pleasure, but it was entertaining. And provoking--maddening, I mean--in a good way.

Set during a bout of political unrest in Spain during the reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella, this tells the story of a small town terrorized by a young nobleman, a commander in the Order of Calatrava. The town celebrated his military exploits, showing him every respect, but he horrified them with the seduction of many women and outright rape of others. The men were beaten if they interfered and the town leaders were ignored and disrespected when they tried to protect the people. In the end, after he abducted a young woman and she escaped, calling the men of the town cowards, they banded together to kill the commander. I was rooting for them, too.

When the king sent a judge to investigate, the people refused to answer any question except to say that it was the town that killed him. In the end, the king acquitted them.

It's a powerful story, and though the pacing and style feel strange after reading Marlowe and Shakespeare and other early English playwrights, it works in its own way. (I adjusted, I guess I mean.) The tone is earnest throughout, unrelieved (as far as I could see) by humor, which would have been welcome, but it's only three acts; everything is pretty focused, moving straight from start to finish without much detouring. I found it surprising that the theme would be acceptable to audiences of Lope de Vega's time, with the people asserting their right to demand justice over the right of nobles to do as they please. It seemed rather modern in that way--which I guess shows me that my idea of modern needs correction.

Overall, it was entertaining and instructive, and I think could be staged successfully, though the subject matter might put it out of reach of schools. Certainly worth studying.

Recommended for those interested in Spanish literature.

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Will Shakespeare, Hero of the Occupation

Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another of those great "What if?" books that Harry Turtledove is rightly known for.

Imagining a victorious Spanish Armada and the occupation of Britain, it tells the story mostly of William Shakespeare being drawn into rebellious intrigues against the Spanish. He's getting along the best he can under the occupation when he's tasked with writing a play that will spark an uprising.

The logic of this alternate history is impeccable, the political and social ramifications thoroughly developed. This isn't how it happened, but it's a way it might have happened. The strange Elizabethan setting feels very real.

Shakespeare and his contemporaries are well drawn and compelling. Historic figures--Christopher Marlowe, Lope de Vega, his fellow actors, and the political figures like Sir William Cecil and his son--are fleshed out in a way that gives this story the feeling of history, and the minor characters (some invented, some actual people) are equally convincing. My favorite character is Cecily Sellis, the "witch" who lived in the same boarding house as Shakespeare and defied expectations. (She was probably the closest to a "fantasy" type character in the story, which in every other way feels like straightforward history.)

The author makes wonderful use of Shakespeare's lines throughout the novel, something I really enjoyed. (Despite being a high school English teacher, I'm an indifferent Shakespeare scholar, so I'm certain I passed over many of the quotes without noticing. But I caught plenty.) He works them into dialogue and banter as much as he uses them for the plays within the story, and they are often fun easter eggs without being obtrusive. It's the kind of erudition (no other word works) that is uncommon in modern fantasy as well as a reminder that we are fortunate to have a writer capable of pulling off a novel based on a premise this ambitious.

So, yeah, I liked it.

There is a lot of exciting action and entertaining subplots, especially the love life of Spanish writer Lope de Vega, though some of the middle does not move along with quite as much pace as one might like. The last quarter takes off again, though, and the loose ends are satisfyingly gathered by the end. Despite enjoying some bits more than others, I found it entertaining throughout, and I recommend the novel for fantasy readers as well as Shakespeare enthusiasts. And history people.

And now I have to go educate myself more on Lope de Vega, and I blame the author. ;)

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