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Culture - Book 12: A Great Reckoning

CULTURAL INSPIRATIONS FROM THREE PINES: A GREAT RECKONING

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It strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room.

William Shakespeare (Epigraph, A Great Reckoning)

Christopher MarloweThe Shakespeare quote comes from the comedic play, As You Like It (Act III, Scene III), and is believed to have been written in 1599. The line is a direct reference to Christopher Marlowe’s death which occurred six years earlier under extremely suspicious circumstances.

Marlowe, a mercurial figure in Elizabethan England, was a rumored spy, a possible heretic, a poet, and, above all, the greatest playwright of his era, up until his untimely death at the age of 29, when Shakespeare would assume the mantle.

The “reckoning” that led to Marlowe being stabbed to death was purportedly over an unpaid bill, although the man who wielded the dagger, Ingram Frizer, was—like Marlowe—linked to espionage and the motive for murder was perhaps more political than pound sterling based.

So great was Marlowe’s influence on the Bard that there are theories that Marlowe was indeed Shakespeare himself. For over 400 years, the question of “did Shakespeare actually pen the plays attributed to him?” has loomed large. Marlowe is but one of the possible candidates. Others include Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, Sir Walter Raleigh, and—the most curious of all in my opinion—Amelia Bassano Lanyer.

Amelia Bassano LanyerLanyer (1569-1645) was one of the first women in England to publish her own poetry and to operate her own school. She is also credited as a pioneer of the feminist movement. In short, Amelia Bassano Lanyer was smart, unique, and strong-willed.

Enter (Stage Left) Louise’s character, Amelia Choquet.

Amelia, as introduced in A Great Reckoning, is certainly unique, classically smart, and exceptionally strong-willed.

And, the name Amelia has a singular importance in Armand Gamache’s familial history.

“Armand Gamache sat in the little room and closed the dossier with care, squeezing it shut, trapping the words inside.”

And so begins the 12th novel in the Three Pines canon and, for those of you who have read it, you know that the book contains a major settling of accounts, a great reckoning, if you will.

Categories
Culture - Book 12: A Great Reckoning

Louise’s Tour Dates

Tour Dates

Louise will be touring to support the publication of A Great Reckoning. Here are the dates / places:

CHICAGO, IL – LAUNCH EVENT
Tuesday, August 30th
Hosted by Andersons Bookshop at Pfeiffer Hall on the campus of North Central College
310 E Benton Ave, Naperville IL
7:00 p.m.—buy tickets

WICHITA, KS
Wednesday, August 31st
Hosted by Watermark Books at Abode Venue
1330 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67214
6:00 p.m.—buy tickets

KANSAS CITY, KS
Thursday, September 1st
Hosted by Rainy Day Books at Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary
707 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
7:00 p.m.—buy tickets

ST. LOUIS, MO
Friday, September 2nd
Hosted by Left Bank Books at St. Louis County Library Headquarters
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, Mo 63131
7:00 p.m.—buy tickets

GREENVILLE, SC
Saturday, September 3rd
Hosted by Fiction Addiction at Holland Park Church
1131 Holland Road, Simpsonville, South Carolina 29681
4:00 p.m.—buy tickets

ASHEVILLE, NC
Sunday, September 4th
Hosted by Malaprops /The Diana Wortham Theatre
2 S. Pack Square, Asheville, NC 28801
7:00 p.m.—buy tickets

SOUTHERN PINES, NC
Monday, September 5th
Hosted by The Country Bookshop at Sandhills Community College Owen’s Auditorium
3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374
5:00 p.m.—buy tickets

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Tuesday, September 6th
Hosted by Politics and Prose at Sidwell Friends meetinghouse
3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016
7:00 p.m.—buy tickets

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