2 comments about Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author (New York Review Books Classics).

1. The lives and deaths of Shelley and Byron ought to interest the world--not just the readers of English--for their poetry covered every topic: the rise and fall of empires, nation-building and nation-breaking, and the vanity of the men who would lead them in victory or defeat. And Edward John Trelawny shows us each poet as a human being. The production of fine writing should not be a mystery; beautiful language comes most eloquently from a troubled heart and a mind committed to seeking knowledge. Trelawny reminds us that Byron's and Shelley's lives were focused on connecting to people through their work; Tre begins each chapter with lines from the work of Byron or Shelley.
   
   The Introduction to this edition of Trelawny's book is written by Anne Barton, a professor at Trinity College, Cambridge University, from which Byron himself graduated about 200 years ago. I disagree with her that Tre's writing is "focused for the most part upon himself" as though he were self-centered, though Barton does say he had "hidden depths" (xx). Based on the form and structure and content of Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author (and Tre's subsequent life), it seems that Trelawny was aware of the nuances of human character and was more than adequate to the task of knowing complex people. The details he provides in key places are so specific that they could not have been lies or fabrications; Byron's claim that Trelawny could not tell the truth was simply evidence of Byron's pleasure in teasing banter. "Byron's idle talk during the exhumation of [Edward Elliker] William's remains," Trelawny writes, "did not proceed from want of feeling, but from his anxiety to conceal what he felt from others" (146). Byron also concealed his feelings at the cremation of Shelley's remains. It's clear throughout the book that Tre is a sharp observer--of himself and others. And Tre was sensitive to what Mary Godwin Shelley and Williams' wife, Jane, felt about the drowning of their husbands in the Bay of Spezia. Mary Shelley wrote to Tre that she experienced a "blank moral death" (176). Tre shows that the breakup of the Pisan Circle--because of Shelley's drowning--was clearly a personal tragedy with far-reaching consequences.
   
   This is a book for all seasons--but better appreciated while strolling on a beach in some far-flung corner of a poetic universe.



2. If you're interested in the life of Edward John Trelawny, you'll have to look elsewhere. Suffice it to say that Tre' (as his friends knew him) was a privateer, a scoundrel, a lover of poetry, a freedom-fighter and a loyal friend of the most prolific literary talents of the romantic period. "Records of Shelley, Byron and the Author" is an account, not of Trelawny's extraordinary life & adventures, but of the two men that helped make that life so extraordinary. In his own words, he tells of the secret lives of Byron and the Shelley's, their romp through sunny Italy and the tragic death of Percy in the coast of Spezzia. The tale continues as Tre' follows Byron to the bloody civil war in Greece, where Byron too dies. To his credit, though, it is never "Trelawny's tale", but "Byron and Shelley's tale" as told by Trelawny. This deep, insightful book shows the poets as only a close friend could. Yet throughout, one can not help but love Trelawny himself: the man who supported the impoverished Mary Shelley to her dying day... the man who bought a slave for $10,000 only to set him free... the man who reached into the embers of Shelley's pyre, withdrawing his heart. If you love the poetry of Byron and Shelley & have even a passing interest in the men behind the legends, then Trelawny's memoirs are a must-read.

2 comments about Hawkwood.

1. YES! It's about time we get a book in the historical realm that is not about either World War II or the holocaust or the sod-cutters of stoneybutt-upon-whitheridgecum. Finally, a respite from the boring, written-for-an-academic-professor-who-is-uptight style of history we have been force fed for years!
   
   This book kicks buttock, and I can't imagine anybody on earth not liking it, period(.). Francis Stonor Saunders is an author with real balls, except that said balls would be theoretical, because the author is a woman. No matter! Reading this book will GROW meaty man-balls on you, whether you are a woman, man, eunuch, ACLU member, whatever. I, Myself, have grown a second pair after reading about the thrilling exploits of John Hawkwood, and now I am twice as popular at the roller rink on friday nights.
   
   Plus, I learned a new word-"palimpest".
   
   Sweet!



2. I have the hardcover edition of this book.
   
   The quote on the back of the dust jacket states "Simply the most vivid account of the late medieval world I have ever read." I totally agree.
   
   This book is an excellent exploration of medieval Italian life during the 14th century. It bring to us the life of John Hawkwood, a famous English mercenary captain, Saunders also describes the country, its politics, its religion(s), battles, the plight of the common people, and many of it's other famous figures.
   
   I heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in the late medieval period.

1 comments about Tangled Loyalties: The Life and Times of Ilya Ehrenburg.

1. If someone had submitted a manuscript based on Ilya Ehrenburg's life to a publisher it would have been tossed away as too unbelievable, even for fiction. Ilya Ehrenburg joined the Bolsheviks as a young man but had broken with the party well before the Russian Revolution. He was a childhood friend of Nikolai Bukharin and spent time with Leon Trotsky in Geneva. While living in Paris before the revolution he was befriended by Lenin but the friendship ended when Ehrenburg mocked him in a satirical piece he had published. He lived abroad for years, both before and after the Revolution, he spoke French and hobnobbed with Europe's literary intelligentsia. He was Jewish. Thousands of people in Stalin's USSR were purged or summarily executed for having just one of these characteristics. Millions were purged for less. Yet Ehrenburg not only survived but prospered. Joshua Rubenstein's "Tangled Loyalties: The Life and Times of Ilya Ehrenburg" does an excellent job of setting out the fascinating details of Ehrenburg's life and the many factors that `conspired' to keep Ehrenburg in the public eye and far away from the Gulag.
   
   For those that survived the Holocaust the fact of survival is often an interior matter for the survivor, sometimes marked by remorse and guilt simply because one survived against all odds. For those that survived the purges and executions of the Stalin era in the USSR, the fact of survival is often an exterior matter in which the outside world questions the means by which the survivor escaped unharmed. The historian A.J.P. Taylor, in a review of Ilya Ehrenburg's Memoirs suggest that in "years of danger and crisis, it becomes almost a crime to survive." The fact of Ehrenburg's survival and the means by which he managed to survive is the central theme of Rubenstein's biography.
   
   Rubenstein takes the reader through Ehrenburg's early years as a student revolutionary and his flirtation with the Bolsheviks. The description of Ehrenburg's pre-revolutionary time in Paris and his initial contacts with Lenin and his cadres in exile is particularly interesting. After the revolution, a revolution that Ehrenburg condemned, we see him changing his mind and becoming a staunch supporter of the regime after the Bolsheviks defeated the white army in the Civil War. From there Ehrenburg's years in Paris the 1920s and 1930s where he became well known in artistic and literary circles are outlined very nicely. Ehrenburg became the de facto ambassador of art and literature of the USSR. In fact, it may very well have been Ehrenburg's rather exalted status in the west that protected him all those years. From there we see Ehrenburg's increasing involvement in the anti-fascist movement culminating in his extensive reporting from Spain during the civil war. Ehrenburg survived and prospered despite the fact that Stalin's purges often focused on people who had spent time abroad and who participated in the Civil War. When WWII started Ehrenburg's fame increased as a result of his forceful and intelligent reporting for Red Star, the Red Army newspaper. It was during the war that Ehrenburg, along with his colleague Vasily Grossman, began the compilation that became known as the Black Book of Soviet Jewry. The monumental Black Book may very well represent the most important work of Ehrenburg's life.
   
   From the time the war ended and through his death in 1953, Stalin's anti-cosmopolitan campaign and his doctor's plot caused thousands of Jews, including many friends of Ehrenburg to be purged and sent to the Gulag. Through it all, Ehrenburg continued to be published, not without some difficulty in the Soviet Union. At the same time, Ehrenburg became one of the Soviet regime's greatest apologists. As he had done in the 1930's Ehrenburg attacked western left-leaning intellectuals that deviated from the party line. Throughout Stalin's rein and through Khrushchev's leadership Ehrenburg became perhaps the best known and most-intellectually well thought of defender of the Soviet regime. It is for these actions that many find fault with Ehrenburg.
   
   However, at the same time, and within the constraints of an oppressive regime where any untoward step could have severe repercussions, Rubenstein sets out those many instances where Ehrenburg went out of his way to help friends and fellow artists who had been arrested or could not get published. Rubenstein takes pains to point out how many of those who had been imprisoned respected and were grateful for Ehrenburg's efforts on their behalf.
   
   It is the portrayal of this conflict between Ehrenburg's arguably craven kow-towing to the Soviet regime and his efforts on behalf of his friends or fellow writers that make Rubenstein's work so interesting. Rubenstein, and others, fall squarely on the side of absolving Ehrenburg of most of the responsibility for his acts. Nevertheless he does not bludgeon the reader over the head with that opinion nor does he withhold information that might lead a reader to come to a different conclusion.
   
   I tend to fall a bit onto the non-judgmental side of the ledger although not perhaps as fully as Rubenstein. The deciding factor for me is the thought that Ehrenburg's severest critics seem to be those in the west who did not have to walk the deadly tightrope Ehrenburg walked for years. Those that seem most accepting of Ehrenburg's behavior were those who lived and suffered during those years and appreciated Ehrenburg's efforts on their behalf.
   
   Rubenstein's Tangled Loyalties is a fascinating look at the life of someone who spent a life making hard choices. I recommend this to anyone interested in Soviet history and leave it up to the reader to determine whether Ehrenburg was guilty of the crime of survival.
   
   L. Fleisig

No comments about Island Cross-Talk (Oxford Paperbacks).

No comments about Big Trifles and Little People: Memoirs of a Russian Nobleman.

5 comments about The Keys to Avalon.

1. I am not quite finished reading this book but so far I am impressed. I would have liked to see a consolidating map at the end of the book elucidating the narrative. As it stands the maps provided are piecemeal and difficult to put into the wider geographical context.
   
   The author's premise is a very engaging (a note here: this is a book attempting to put Arthur, Avalon and the entire cast in a geographical and historical context, not a history of the little people) mix of culture, politics, religion (both pagan and Christian), proposed historical inaccuracy, and linguistic detective work somewhat reminiscent of The White Goddess. Certainly I would like to do some of my own research before subscribing to a rewrite of English history, but I must say elements of this book have the ring of truth, if not common sense. Anybody at all inclined, or if you need to be inspired to visit Wales: read it!



2. Speaking as a complete novice regarding the history and geography of England, I have to admit that the theory presented in this book made as much, if not more, sense to me than the accepted theory of where things were in Arthur's England.
   
   I could never understand how so much arthurian history could have actually taken place in the far Northeast of England as it was simply too far away. And with no reason for it to be that far away.
   
   Of course maybe my ready acceptance of their theory could simply be the result of my not having any reason to adhere to the accepted versions of where things were supposedly located.
   
   I have tried to find additional discussion on the authors' theory but there doesn't seem to be much available. I wish there was.



3. As someone very interested in Arthurian legends I bought this book not really expecting to read anything really new - especially as a work has recently appeared on Arthur in Wales. I was wrong!

   O.K., you can argue about place names and whose source material is better than whose until doomsday, but nothing helps more to give a book that 'something extra' than a good dose of common-sense.

   My initial reaction was one of sceptcism, especially when Geoffrey of Monmouth appeared on the scene, but I took a jump of faith and waded in. Once you have read the entire book - and not tried to nit pick on every individual piece of evidence - the overall picture is extremely convincing.

   I may not agree with everything held within this books cover, but there is certainly enough here to warrant further study and debate. I take my hat off to the authors for an extremely well researched piece of work.




4. Most popular books in search of the historical Arthur (and there are many such books and just about as many theories regarding who the "real" Arthur was) use the same classic sources (Gildas, Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and a few others) and, increasingly, archaeological data. Welsh literary sources, such as the "Brut Y Brenhinedd," the Triads, and bardic poetry, are generally relegated to the background and are often wholly ignored, despite the rather obvious fact the Welsh people are the primary cultural heirs of whatever society in which the historical Arthur existed. Blake and Lloyd reverse this approach in "The Keys to Avalon," giving their main focus to such Welsh literary sources. Their approach certainly is not without controversy. They follow the lead of a few earlier writers who contend that at least some versions of the "Brut Y Brenhinedd" derive independently from the same source used by Geoffrey of Monmouth to write his great "Historia Regum Britanniae" and are not, as most scholars contend, simply Welsh translations of Geoffrey's work. The difference is crucial since the "Brut" uses Welsh names for locations which differ greatly from the English names in Geoffrey's book. Blake and Lloyd contend that Geoffrey altered the Welsh originals to make his book better suited for an English audience and for political purposes. This is an important point and, if true, could mean that the historical Arthur operated on a smaller stage (North Wales, for the most part) than most popular accounts which have him ranging over large portions of present-day England and Scotland. I certainly am not qualified to absolutely judge the validity of what Blake and Lloyd have to say on the matter, but I do hope their book inspires others to take a serious look at this possibility, either to confirm their analysis or to disprove it.

   I have little doubt that Blake and Lloyd in their enthusiam for their Welsh-oriented reconstruction of Arthurian fact have at least in a couple areas gone well beyond what the evidence can support. Specifically, I find their claim that Offa's Dyke (a mammoth earthwork almost universally credited to the Eighth Century Mercian King Offa) was built by the Third Century Roman Emperor Severius to be entirely unconvincing. (There is now archaeological evidence that Wat's Dyke may date from the Fifth Century and thus might explain accounts of a wall in northern Wales prior to Offa.) And secondly, I consider their re-writing of the history of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of much of Britain (moving events from their traditional locations to an exclusively Welsh context) to be very unlikely, as it seems to ignore non-Welsh and archaeological sources that bear upon the question.

   Nonetheless, I think that "The Keys to Avalon" is worth reading, even if with a sceptical eye, for its intriguing analysis of the North Wales sites associated with a possible historical Arthur.




5. Suddenly, the Dark Ages make sense.

   The Keys to Avalon explores fact, folklore, myths and legends and brings them together in a work which offers a stunningly simple,logical explanation for why so many 'academics' have struggled for so long to make sense of the Dark Ages.

   Put simply, it is the survival of the ancient Welsh language and culture which provides the Key to this new understanding of the Dark Ages.

   Until this book, Arthurian (and other) legends associated with the Dark Ages have been interpreted from the anglicised (as in Anglo Saxon) view, with errors having crept in through translations from Welsh to Latin and then to English.

   The Keys to Avalon goes back to the original Welsh records of these times, and unlocks the door to a greater understanding of the period by considering the meaning of the original Ancient Welsh language, which differs from the current Welsh language in some critical ways.

   In 'The Keys to Avalon' the authors seem to have compared the ancient Welsh accounts of the Dark Ages with the standard versions based on the Anglo-Saxon accounts. The authors give due regard to the fact that there is often a grain of truth in folklore, myths and legends passed down verbally through the generations. This seems particularly appropriate in Wales where even today, despite the celebration of the survival of the Welsh language in the various Eisteddfodau, the majority of fluent Welsh speakers have difficulty in reading and writing the Welsh language.

   This book brings to life the Welsh countryside - looking at names and features on maps and showing how the Arthurian legends suddenly 'fit' into specific geographic areas of realistic extent.

   Once in a while something comes along which is so blindingly obvious that you think 'why didn't anyone say this before?' I can imagine there are a lot of academics and authors out there who will be wishing now that they had made the same efforts that Steve Blake and Scott Lloydd have in their work, which literally does rewrite Dark Age history.

   This is a superb book which will be enjoyed by anyone with an open, unprejudiced, mind.

4 comments about The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation.

1. This book is a good story for researchers as well as the general audience.



2. (This refers to the Softcover Edition, which I bought at a bookstore but notice is not currently offered on Amazon. Much more affordable---)
   
   There is no doubt that author Maccullogh is a first class scholar when it comes to religion in the Tudor Age; however, I faced the same woeful problem with this book that I encountered on his masterful and massive work on my own ancestor, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer--and that is that the attention to infintesimal detail is constructed in such density that it makes for unfortunately slow reading. It's almost like reading a text book...and spending an entire semester on a course in Edwardian Reformation. A historian he is. A storyteller, no.
   
   However, those who would dismiss Edward as merely a "boy king" with a short reign would be well advised to take some time with this work and discover how much of a serious and lasting impact he did manage to have on politics and religion.



3. Diarmaid MacCulloch should have a well merited following by now. His extremely readable books finally made Church History a fascinating subject. His mastery of theology, ecclesiology, iconography, architecture, ceremony, and other dimensions of Tudor England are unrivalled, and he weaves them into a comprehensive whole. The depth and quality of his research are exemplary, and his prose is very good literature.

   In this book he shows how most events which make the pace of Edward VI's reign seem frantic, were prepared but had to be postponed during Henry VIII's last years. Even during his first year, Edward's establishment under the Duke of Somerset's protectorate was reluctantly forced to appease the Emperor Charles V, the majority of lay politicians, and conservative bishops as powerful as Stephen Gardiner of Winchester. After Somerset's disgrace, John Dudley, first Earl of Warwick and later Duke of Northumberland maintained a more consensual relationship with the Lords. He made peace with France and Scotland, and inaugurated a phase of political reconstruction at home, thus permitting the evangelical revolution to recover its pace.

   Dr. MacCulloch lets us see that in England as in the Continent, the cost of being too specific on the Lord's Supper was soon perceived, since the matter was admittedly of more importance to traditionalists and evangelicals alike than justification by faith, and also produced more martyrs. This determines a very gradual, even stealthy accumulation of arguments and liturgical reforms up to 1550, although at least Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer and Thomas Cranmer had much earlier become convinced that the Lutheran doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist was as blasphemous as the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation. Nevertheless, MacCulloch argues convincingly that Cranmer's convictions on the Lord's Supper are more in agreement with Heinrich Bullinger's than with either Zwingli's or Calvin's theology. Whether, as John Knox believed, had he reigned longer Edward would have evolved into a doctrinaire Calvinist, is now a moot point.

   One of this book's main attractions is that it conveys a sense of indebtedness to a very young and serious boy, a great promise that flickered and died. Edward is portrayed as a real believer, not just an immature tool of vested interests. Since he appears to have been gifted with a more thoughtful and less egotistical character than his father, it's very possible that he would have grown up to be a great leader of the Reformation, and Cranmer could have finally convened the General Council of Reformed Churches of which he dreamt.

   Regardless of how much anglo-catholicism and theological liberalism alike have done to demolish the Edwardian heritage, it's possible that in a critical juncture such as the one Anglicans worldwide find themselves in today, MacCulloch's closing lines might awaken their concern:

   "Perhaps the Anglican Communion, most enigmatic member of the Christian family of Churches, might show more gratitude for Edwardian mischief -or at the very least, some remembrance and understanding".

   The book carries ninety-two well-chosen illustrations, with very helpful captions. The bibliography includes primary sources in manuscript and in print, secondary sources, and unpublished dissertations. Though softbound, the book is very sturdy, and should survive casual handling. It's quality work from the University of California Press.




4. In the years since publication of his award-winning biography of Thomas Cranmer, one cannot stop marveling at the scholarship of Prof MacCulloch, at his indubitable talent of an author, and at how deftly and effortlessly he adapts it to the restrictions of an academic narrative. `The Boy-King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation', published in 2001 in hardback and in 2002 in paperback, has been a definitive treat for many Tudor students, providing them with an engaging story of the English Reformation in the years between 1547 and 1553, as well as containing references to a mesmerising range of archives, from the good old British Library to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
   
   Thanks to Prof MacCulloch's being one of the leading British church historians, this book has rather successfully done what other monographs did not quite manage to achieve. Its main achievement is in the fact that one can no longer think of Edward VI as a juvenile parrot in terms of his political involvement. Although this does not immediately imply that his raison d'etat was promising to be terrific, his participation in the matters of state must not be underestimated, let alone overlooked. MacCulloch illustrates this, for example, with his brilliant analysis of Edward's proposal for the reform of the Order of the Garter in the light of its deriving from Edward's tutorship and contemporary political discourse.
   
   The reason why this change in the view of Edward seems so important is because scholars until this day continue to debate the political potential and intellectual faculties of a young king, being mostly critical about both. The most blatant example is Stephen Alford's biography of Edward VI and the review of it by George Bernard. Those, however, who read MacCulloch's book attentively will - hopefully - realise by the end of the last chapter that it is futile to either extol Edward or to dismiss him. Indeed, the boy did not reach his 16th birthday, and no matter what promises had been there, these were buried with him in June 1553. He nevertheless contributed to the affairs of state, by writing proposals, notes, discourses, etc. Certainly, one must still see the forest for the trees, but these documents, written by the young king himself, cannot ever be ignored. One must remember that in all times children were engaged in political discourse, however superficial, especially if they had been destined to the throne. Consequently, these documents, even if they had little or no impact, must be read with all due seriousness to catch the glimpses of an emerging character. For this reason, there cannot be too much praise for MacCulloch, who with a simple phrase `the boy-king' captured the whole ambiguity of Edward's reign and his contribution to the mid-Tudor politics.
   
   The book's attention to the representation of power in Edward's reign only further stresses this ambiguity. The careful analysis of many `personas' attributed to Edward VI at different stages of his life in politics shows that today's historians are preoccupied with the same paradox, as perplexed Edward's contemporaries. As A. Pollard said, for the first time a ten-year-old became the head of the Church, and MacCulloch studies two main religious `images' attached to Edward - Josiah and Solomon. He carefully investigates the rationale for choosing these exact kings and the incongruities of the lives of these biblical characters, to see how those were adapted to the mid-Tudor realities.
   
   This is all the more significant, as prior to MacCulloch's book there was no in-depth study of this peculiarity of the English Reformation in Edward VI's reign, which stemmed from the fact that the Church reform was now heralded by a child. Some scholars, most successfully, perhaps, the late Jennifer Loach, paid much attention to Edward's secular activities and representation of him as the head of the State, which, although giving out new information, hardly made historians any more serious about the boy-king. Normally, before and even after her post-mortem book, scholars have preferred to focus on political moves of Somerset, Northumberland, Cranmer, et al., overlooking, for example, the necessity those had to represent the king's age and his legitimacy in both domestic and external affairs. MacCulloch's study of representation of Edward as the head of the Church puts the reader in the position of making a choice: to look at the years 1547-1553 as a series of farcical attempts of mid-Tudor officials to pretend that England was high and mighty; or to admit that political farce has always been there, and hence Edward VI's reign is not an exclusion and must then be treated appropriately. Books by both Loach and MacCulloch are the examples of this kind of treatment: they both showed the full awareness of the fact that their study of either mid-Tudor monarchy or Church would not break free from any conventions, unless they constantly kept the boy-king in the focus.
   
   In addition to a variety of sources used, MacCulloch's book is rich in illustrations, supporting his arguments that derive from the reading of the written documents, and thus providing his reader with much food for thought. In that, his book dwells both on Loach's monograph, as well as on a brilliant, although not always definitive study by Margaret Aston, `The King's Bedpost'. The trend was continued by Stephen Alford in his biography of Edward VI, and will certainly carry on.
   
   Together with the books by Loach, Aston and, most recently, Alford, `The Boy-King' by Diarmaid MacCulloch underlines the importance of the ever-wide scholarship and the use of different sources, if one wants, in Ranke's words, to penetrate history. And this is exactly what MacCulloch's book allows to do to its reader. To a professional historian, like myself, it gave insight into new sources and the way to employ them, as well as highlighted the questions that require an answer. To those who are simply interested in Tudors, the book tells the story of one of the most ambiguous yet fascinating periods in English history, after reading which one may be compelled to understand why it is better if the monarch is mature, even if he is not very popular.

3 comments about Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time.

1. Scholarly and very prefessional. A rare insight into the life of Mehmed Celebi. Well-balanced and soberly written. Only point of critique is that for some reason the author persists in using the modern Turkish names for cities which were Byzantine at the time of the events described. This does become a little annoying when using this book with primary sources. Apart from that - splendid!



2. Not a popular book, for sure, with all the details and historical evidences... But it provides an excellent picture of the time and gives strong clues about what we live today at these parts of the world and why we are facing these problems... I have known the Ottoman history from the Turkish version, as do so many people when it comes to the past of their own country... But reading this, I understood once again how important it is to learn the other versions of the reality... If it could have been possible for all, I am sure life on earth would be much peacefull with the help of lessons to be taken from the past...



3. An outstanding biography of Mehmed II and a disturbing history of his time. Historians rarely depict their subjects in such a thrilling manner as does Babinger. Everything is told: mass executions, doublecrossings, and the insatiable greed for power. This history is crucial to the better understanding of the current conflict in the former Yugoslavia.

3 comments about Cuchulain of Muirthemne.

1. To qualify, I would have given this book 4-and-a-half stars, if possible, because it's a great book, but the material is definitely overrated in precedence in this reviewer's mind. Although a great read, this is not the mythology of Ireland, but rather the regional mythology of Ulster. I'll explain...

   I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Lady Gregory's Complete Irish Mythology several years ago, which contained Gods and Fighting Men, and this book, Cuchulain of Muirthemne, in one tome. If you're lucky enough to find a copy of Complete Irish Mythology, buy it.

   If not, try to land a copy of Gods and Fighting Men. Gods and Fighting Men contains the Mythological Cycle (the legendary invasions of Ireland up to the coming of the Gael) which contains many stories of the Tuatha De Danaan, or the Great Fae, and the Fenian Cycle, which are the tales of Finn Mac Cumhail (pronounced MacCool) and his warband/policing force.
   
   The Mythological Cycle is the essential root of Irish mythology, and our early introduction to the Gods, Goddesses and Divine Heroes (and Heras), some of whom make guest cameos in Cuchulain of Muirthemne.
   
   The Fenian Cycle is known throughout Ireland and in the Highlands of Scotland. Finn wanders throughout Ireland righting wrongs and providing security against would-be invaders. Magic is alive and well and the Gods walk among the mortal men and women. People are much more interactive with Nature than the (possibly) later Ulster Cycle.

   Cuchulain of Muirthemne is the star of the Ulster Cycle. In his youth he was known as Setanta and was born with a radiance on his brow (this ties in with Lugh, who he claims as his father, and also reminds one of the Biblical Nephilim, children born of angels and mortal women). Later on, Setanta arrived late for a supper at the blacksmith's house and fought a life-or-death battle with the blacksmith's dog, the biggest, meanest hound in all of Ireland. When Setanta wins this contest, the blacksmith is very upset. Showing a high degree of Irish honour, Setanta becomes known as Cuchulain (Hound of Cullen) until a new mastiff can be raised and trained to take his place.

   The Ulster Cycle is much more urban than the Fenian. The warriors ride to battle in war chariots and spend most of their time in inhabited areas. Magic is much less common, and the Gods no longer walk in this world; rather, they make rare appearances to special individuals.

   Although an integral body of lore within the larger corpus of Irish mythology, the Ulster Cycle seems to receive almost exclusive attention from scholars, possibly because of its greater compatibility with written history. Unfortunately, most books with titles like "Early Irish Mythology" almost exclusively detail the Ulster Cycle while largely ignoring the Mythological and Fenian Cycles. This is a misnomer, because, again, the Ulster Cycle is the lore of one region in Ireland and is largely unknown in oral tradition outside of it.

   I would list Cuchulain of Muirthemne as required reading AFTER one has been acquainted with the Mythological and Fenian Cycles. This is fascinating supplemental lore of a regional nature, not quite foundational Irish mythology (in this reviewer's mind, anyway). I really did enjoy the lore of Cuchulain of Muirthemne and, with the qualifiers above, would recommend this work to all.




2. Lady Gregory's book is one of the jumping-off points and first fruits of the Irish Renaissance in literature. This translation is one of the classics of modern Irish scholarship. It's fairly readable, especially if you like epic stories, and it does an excellent job of introducing you to mythic Ireland. This is one of Lady Gregory's two finest works, in my opinion.



3. This book is a translation of many myths, legends, and folk lore of Ireland that make up the Ulster Cycle. The focus of the book is upon Cuchulain, The Hound of Ulster and champion of The Red Branch of Ulster, his life, and his death. A great book for any fan of Celtic myths and legends as well as any lover of fantasy.

5 comments about Shakespeare: A Life.

1. I enjoyed this biography of Shakespeare very much. My wife and I were in London at the just opened Borders on Oxford St. when I saw a signed copy of this book for sale and decided to purchase it. It was a great read and quite convincing in its approach to the playwright and poet. There is not enough direct evidence of the man's life to flesh everything out, but Park Honan uses the plays forensically. What does a close reading of the plays tell us about the man who wrote them? And then look into how that matches with what we know directly of him. It matches quite well and becomes a wonderfully fleshed out portrait. That being said, there is much more direct evidence about Shakespeare and his plays than many of the conspiracy theorists would have you believe.
   
   We follow him from his youth in Stratford along his journey to London and what work in the theater of those days was like. We learn about the sheer volume of lines an actor of those times would have had ready for use in their mind at any given time; it was thousands and thousands of lines. It is drawing upon that resource, just as a Handel or a Teleman or a Bach called upon the hundreds of works they had in their minds, that allowed him to compose with such rapidity. It was his genius to improve upon his sources just as Bach and Handel always made more of their borrowings. Genius never requires a noble source. In fact, it is usually sprung from seemingly poor soil. Yet it comes.
   
   The author is very specific about what we know directly from the record versus what is a normative behavior for the time and a possibility for Shakespeare. Honan never allows speculation and possibility to become fact. Nor does he follow other modern anachronisms of wondering about the psychology of Shakespeare or whether he was "Gay" since even the term homosexual would be out of place in Elizabethan times, though homoerotic attachments were not.
   
   I believe the author makes such a powerful case the William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the plays that the Oxfordians will simply attack the book because of their faith, however unfounded in anything beyond desire and assertion.
   
   I recommend this book highly.



2. Honan's biography of Shakespeare is superb. The writing style is good, the research reliable, and the play reviews are appropriate. The reader ends up with a detailed knowledge of the life of the bard. That is the purpose of a biography. Highly recommended.



3. A great deal of Shakespeare's life appears never to have made it into the official record, and Park Honan, for all his skill as a writer, cannot change that.

   What Mr. Honan does do, however, is construct in detail the setting for what facts we do know about Shakespeare's life. Even if we lack many of the basic facts of Shakespeare's boyhood, for instance, we know what Stratford was like, and we know what kind of lives boys in Stratford led. Mr. Honan lays out this setting, gives us the known facts about young Will, contents himself with making the occasional relatively safe guess, and leaves it at that.

   Despite the fact that Mr. Honan's book is mostly setting, with a fairly scarce plot, it's a good read, flowing well and entertaining. Your study of Shakespeare should start here.




4. We will perhaps never be able to come across a "definitive" (in the modern sense) life of Shakespeare because of the obviously sketchy nature of the extant documents relating to his life .Realising this,Mr.Honan has done the next best thing : to fill in the bare bones of the Bard's life with information from the Elizabethan period & done it in an exquisite fashion.What we get is not what Shakespeare DID at any given point in his life but a sense of what he was MOST LIKELY DOING given the socio-cultural milieu,Elizabethan mores,surviving public documents ,comments by his contemporaries and autobiographical fragments from his plays and sonnets.Mr.Honan's view is by its very nature "oblique" but given the paucity of "hard data" ,it is the wisest approach .Moreover he doesn't gloss over the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's life but freely acknowledges them .Each chapter is thoroughly referenced and annotated .The picture that emerges from this account is of a remarkably sensitive genius endowed with a superlative gift for expressing the universal & the ineffable pertaining to the human condition____ in timeless prose .Interestingly ,Honan manages to do this without deifying Shakespeare ,which is wise given that Shakespeare is too fascinating a man to be 'deified away' !In the final analysis genius is always inexplicable in that it breaks the existing molds and "liberates" us to see,hear and experience the world in a novel and yet distinctly human way .This is an exquisite and enjoyable book .



5. A wonderfully written book that cuts through the myths and speculations concerning Bill's life. A view of Shakespeare's life as he lived it. As a boy, a writer, a business man. Easily the best book on the Bard.