Player's Boy/Players and the Rebels

[childeproof.livejournal.com]

An uncommonly nice surprise on my birthday was the GGB Player's Boy and, even more lovely, a perfect first edition hardback of The Players and the Rebels, from my partner. I've never owned a copy of either, and hadn't read them since an illicit speedread in the Bodleian some time ago, when I was supposed to be engaged in altogether more austere matters. Needless to say, I read them this time in a single, gorging session.

Anyway, it's been pointed out by everyone that Forest's period characters are rather twentieth-century and middle-class, but it occurred to me on this reading that Edmund Shakespeare (Ned) is in fact an Elizabethan, male Tim Keith - he and Nicholas have precisely the same rather edgy relationship via Will, as Tim and Nicola have via Lawrie. (Which makes W Shakespeare, obviously, Lawrie!) Then it occurred to me that there are all kinds of other character half-parallels between the 20thc. Marlow books and the historical ones. Humfrey Danvers, physically timid and indecisive, but a brilliant musician, is a version of Lawrie (a total flake, scared of lighting the gas, but a brilliant actor) with a dash of Peter. Will, self-contained, clever, unobtrusively authoritative, is a combination of Rowan, a more accessible Jan Scott and a dash of Giles - although Richard Burbage is probably more of the swashbuckling side of Giles. Wyn Burbage is a more appreciated Ann, kind and concerned, rather trite.

I could go on, until I claimed that John Hemings was in fact an Elizabeth Miss Keith, but I won't. But I'd be interested to hear whether people genuinely think that Nicholas is simply a transplanted Nicola, clever, sensitive, brave, charismatic, violently honourable...?

Comments

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Isn't Humfrey more of an Esther?

[childeproof.livejournal.com]

But if you take Esther's looks out of the equation...? Given that Humfrey is just untidy-looking, and E's beauty seems to be an important part of her appeal for Nicola...

Also, Nicholas is far more actively delighted to see H when he gets back from accompanying Harry on his various disasters than Nicola ever is at re-encountering Esther. (Actually, I've always been slightly puzzled at Nicholas's intensely-felt friendship for dithery Humfrey.)

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

What an excellent gift.

I was comprehensively put off the historicals by the lecture on them at the Forest Conference, but am now wondering whether I should read TPB after all so that I can join in the discussion.

[tabouli.livejournal.com]

At said Forest conference, Sue Sims (I think) told us that AF herself declared Nicholas a male, 16th century version of Nicola.

As for her characters seeming rather 20th century middle class, my impression from the talk which so put off ankaret was that the Shakespearean Oxford Don type who gave the talk on the historical books thought she did a splendid job with period dialogue, blending real and fictional events plausibly etc., apart from making Will "too nice". I don't the period or the historical books well enough to comment on this, but others here may...

[anstruther.livejournal.com]

No, no, no, don't be put off! You really should read the historicals, they are sublime. Think of it as a chance to experience more AF characterisation.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'll just wait for The Players And The Rebels so I can read them in one go. :)

Actually, possibly it's just that I don't want there to be No More AF I Haven't Read.

[childeproof.livejournal.com]

Who gave the talk? I go to far too many conferences in my professional capacity, so gave the AF one a miss, but have been reading the accounts trying to decide if I would have been ostracised because I couldn't remember Nicola's batting order at the Last Match in Cricket Term, or if it would have been huge fun.

I think many 'adult' historical novelists (Michel Faber, looking at you) could learn from AF's lightness of touch with period detail and dialogue, which I think are hugely impressive. And I very much like her ironic, private, tolerant WS. Slightly unreasonable, I would have said, to complain of his being 'too nice' when we know almost nothing about the historical WS. Admittedly, he writes villainy with genius, but could well have been a baby-kissing, cuddlesome Panglossian optimist while writing his revenge tragedies...

[childeproof.livejournal.com]

Do give TPB a chance. It's astonishingly good. It has precisely the qualities which make the 20thc Marlow books so unusual, and, as tabouli says Sue Sims says, a double helping of Elizabethan Nicola.

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I've always thought that Nicola and Nicholas were basically the same character so it's pleasing to discover that AF thought so too!

[leapingirbis.livejournal.com]

Am belatedly adding my enthusiastic encouragement to go ahead and read the Player's Boy. Yesterday I finally had a quiet evening to sit and savour first (for all practical purposes - I did have it out of the library aged 11, before it disappeared from the shelves for ever, but didn't really get it then) reading of the Player's Boy, and can only agree with Anstruther that it is indeed "sublime". Ignore all intellectual discussions about the book, it is just beautifully written and has references to places in the modern books (e.g. the walled hawk garden) which make me very happy!

[leapingirbis.livejournal.com]

But Humphrey captivates Nicholas with his lute-playing in the same way as Esther captivates Nicola with her looks!

Actually, one of the reasons I am enjoying the Nicholas/Humphrey relationship so much is the contrast between Nicholas' wholehearted commitment as opposed to Nicola's more lukewarm, perhaps slightly patronising friendship with Esther!