Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cromwell is the story of the nascent and much reviled profession of theater and playhouses in sixteenth century Elizabethan London. The story is set during those turbulent times when England was under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who had declared war on Catholics and Pope sympathizers and they were hunted down across the realm by the Queen’s men known as the Pursuivants. The protagonist of the story is Richard Shakespeare, the younger brother of the Bard of Avon who is a paid actor in the playhouse where William is the playwright. Although it is a fictional story about two brothers and how their lives are intertwined with plays, stage performances and playhouses, it is also a subtle commentary about the socio-economic and socio-religious life in medieval England. There were all kinds of inequalities, nobility lived a life of inherited luxury and expected obedience from the lower strata. The lower class had to endure unending hardships which gave rise to the social practice of “Fosterage” under which families sent their children to stay and work as apprentices/servants of other families to learn a trade which often meant a life of cruelty and grinding at a young age. Richard’s childhood was no different.
The main plot is about “The Theatre”, a London based professional play house that was the economic lifeline of a bunch of people such as actors, apprentices, playwrights etc. and one of the few sources of entertainment for all strata of society right from the monarchy to the menial laborer and how it managed to survive those duplicitous times. The Puritan section of the society of those times considered the playhouses as “sinks of sin and cockpits of corruption”, which meant the play houses had to follow prevailing moral diktats such as being located outside of city limits and never employ women as actors,requiring young boys to play the female parts instead. Sometimes plays had to be written as a form of royal flattery due to the patronage of the monarchy and influential noblemen and the professional theatre that the world knows today owes its existence to that early patronage. Like any profession, it was also subjected to intense rivalry among the play houses who wanted to outdo the other by hook or crook for running a playhouse profitably required tight budgets, influential connection and good quality plays among others. Play manuscripts were precious and were guarded zealously. The playwrights commanded respect and made more money because the spectators always wanted new content. And that enabled playwrights like William Shakespeare to become one of the shareholders of “The Theatre” where actors, including his brother Richard, were paid a pittance.
There are two sub-plots in the story. One is the relationship between the Shakespeare siblings, William and Richard. There was no love lost between the two. So when Richard, in search of a livelihood, escapes to the Capital from Stratford and meets his brother, William, neither willing to take his responsibility nor provide him shelter, sells him to a priest who was a molester and a pimp by the sly. Richard survives seven years of harsh life in the rough and tumble of sixteenth century London and picks up survival tricks which stood him in good stead. Later on, when he joins the playhouse as a paid actor, William would offer no consideration even though the younger brother barely made ends meet with the money he made playing female characters. He longed to play a man’s part but his playwright brother won’t give him any. The author provides no background reason for this animosity between the two. The relationship did improve for some time after Richard put his life on the line to retrieve the manuscripts of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream” & “ Romeo and Juliet “ which was stolen at the behest of a rival playhouse, The Swan. A teary eyed William embraced his brother after he got them back. And finally Richard got a man’s part in the new play as promised by William.
The other sub-plot is the blossoming love between Richard and Silvia Lester, a boatman’s daughter and a servant in the household of Lord Hunsdon, the Queen’s cousin. Silvia, a kind and sweet girl, puts her job on the line by helping Richard hide in the mansion when he ran afoul of The Pursuivants and saves his life against death threats by bringing the matter to Lord Hunsdon’s attention. This love story has a happy ending as they are married and Silvia started to work for the same play house as well.
The author has presented the two main characters in contrasting light. Richard is shown as loyal, grateful and considerate. Despite enduring penury and scorn from his brother, he refused to take the bait of substantial money (gold sovereigns) in exchange for stealing the manuscripts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream & Romeo and Juliet. He didn’t waver when a gold sovereign was tossed at him. Instead, he entered a very dangerous place to bring back the manuscripts. William, on the other hand, is shown as a cold and selfish man who only cared about his plays and money. He had no qualms about being a partner in several London brothels and takes a mistress leaving his wife and children in Stratford.
Coming to the author’s writing style, one of the golden rules of writing is “show don’t tell” and Bernard Cornwell has done it exceedingly well in this work. His eloquent prose helps the reader to visualize sixteenth century Elizabethan London. His emphasis is more on the dialogue than background narration to take the story forward. He uses the flashback for Richard’s childhood at Stratford. The use of subtle sarcasm to describe the licentiousness of Elizabethan London is hard to miss. For example, his description of Godfrey Cullen, the priest who supplied pretty young boys to wealthy men for the night. The way he makes the reader feel a palpable sense of danger when Riichard discreetly enters the dreaded Scavenger's Yard to retrieve the stolen manuscripts shows deftness of Cromwell’s prose.
This is a delightful historical fiction and is a recommended read for people who are fond of this genre.
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