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Aug. 17th, 2013 02:41 pmSo when we were visiting with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
newredshoes in Chicago, I found a book by her bedside titled No Bed for Bacon: The Story of Shakespeare and Lady Viola in Love.
"OMG," I said, "that's the book Shakespeare in Love is based on, I found out about is existence three months ago and the library has no copies, I MUST READ IT!"
So Esther kindly lent it to me and now I have read it and need to mail it back to her. It does not actually have any plot points in common with Shakespeare in Love aside from the existence of a cross-dressing Lady Viola, but it's kind of charming! If also kind of bemusing. Lady Viola's decision to take a career on the stage is only one of several different wacky plotlines. Others include:
a.) Sir Francis Bacon's repeated attempts to buy one of Queen Elizabeth's beds to pass down to his great-grandchildren
b.) Sir Walter Raleigh's repeated attempts to a.) acquire the most SPLENDID CLOAK IN THE LAND and b.) pull off a Grand Tasting of the First Potato party
c.) Philip Henslowe's repeated attempts to burn down Dick Burbage's theater
d.) Shakespeare's repeated attempts to write Love's Labour's Won (and learn spelling)
e.) Various actors' repeated attempts to get Shakespeare to write them interesting things to do (usually resulting in Hamlet)
f.) a nostalgic and rather lengthy reminiscence between Queen Elizabeth's pet pirates about all of the events before, during and after the Spanish Armada, which I will admit did pall after the first twenty or thirty pages
However, it was all worth it for the scene where Queen Elizabeth decides to banish Viola from court for flirting with Lord Essex:
QUEEN ELIZABETH: What would you like to do instead?
LADY VIOLA: Please, Your Majesty, I would like to cross-dress and join the theater! :D
QUEEN ELIZABETH: . . . all right, sounds reasonable. We'll get that sorted ASAP.
LADY VIOLA: And I would like to work with Shakespeare's company! :D
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Oh no no, that won't do at all. He's supposed to be writing me a play and you'll distract him.
LADY VIOLA: I will not distract him, I'll be disguised as a boy.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Um, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. Haven't you ever heard of the Earl of Southampton?
. . . it was also all worth it for the introduction talking about Carol Brahms and S.J. Simon's process for co-writing 7,000 words a week during the Blitz, which involved leaving each other coded notes in fire watch log-books and occasionally dumping ashtrays over each other's heads. I really want to read Carol Brahms' autobiography now. IT SOUNDS GREAT.
newredshoes in Chicago, I found a book by her bedside titled No Bed for Bacon: The Story of Shakespeare and Lady Viola in Love."OMG," I said, "that's the book Shakespeare in Love is based on, I found out about is existence three months ago and the library has no copies, I MUST READ IT!"
So Esther kindly lent it to me and now I have read it and need to mail it back to her. It does not actually have any plot points in common with Shakespeare in Love aside from the existence of a cross-dressing Lady Viola, but it's kind of charming! If also kind of bemusing. Lady Viola's decision to take a career on the stage is only one of several different wacky plotlines. Others include:
a.) Sir Francis Bacon's repeated attempts to buy one of Queen Elizabeth's beds to pass down to his great-grandchildren
b.) Sir Walter Raleigh's repeated attempts to a.) acquire the most SPLENDID CLOAK IN THE LAND and b.) pull off a Grand Tasting of the First Potato party
c.) Philip Henslowe's repeated attempts to burn down Dick Burbage's theater
d.) Shakespeare's repeated attempts to write Love's Labour's Won (and learn spelling)
e.) Various actors' repeated attempts to get Shakespeare to write them interesting things to do (usually resulting in Hamlet)
f.) a nostalgic and rather lengthy reminiscence between Queen Elizabeth's pet pirates about all of the events before, during and after the Spanish Armada, which I will admit did pall after the first twenty or thirty pages
However, it was all worth it for the scene where Queen Elizabeth decides to banish Viola from court for flirting with Lord Essex:
QUEEN ELIZABETH: What would you like to do instead?
LADY VIOLA: Please, Your Majesty, I would like to cross-dress and join the theater! :D
QUEEN ELIZABETH: . . . all right, sounds reasonable. We'll get that sorted ASAP.
LADY VIOLA: And I would like to work with Shakespeare's company! :D
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Oh no no, that won't do at all. He's supposed to be writing me a play and you'll distract him.
LADY VIOLA: I will not distract him, I'll be disguised as a boy.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Um, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. Haven't you ever heard of the Earl of Southampton?
. . . it was also all worth it for the introduction talking about Carol Brahms and S.J. Simon's process for co-writing 7,000 words a week during the Blitz, which involved leaving each other coded notes in fire watch log-books and occasionally dumping ashtrays over each other's heads. I really want to read Carol Brahms' autobiography now. IT SOUNDS GREAT.
