BEATRICE AND BENEDICK is not a retelling of William
Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. What author
Marina Fiorato has done is imagine a sixteenth century world
where a man and woman with those names could have inspired
the Bard to write his famous comedy. This, you might say,
is the fictional "true story" behind that play—and several
others.
Beatrice is a 19-year-old from northern Italy, visiting her
mother's sister and her family in Sicily. Very near the
beginning, Benedick arrives in the company of Don Pedro, a
Spanish prince. At that time, Sicily was under Spanish rule,
and the Don is seeking contributions of ships and men for
the Spanish Armada. Beatrice and Benedick spar verbally—
and occasionally physically; they enjoy their dust-ups but
always seem to take it just a bit too far for comfort's sake.
If you're familiar with the play, you'll recognize most of
the characters and some of the lines. Fiorato's visual
descriptions of the settings often mirror the Kenneth
Branagh film (which the author acknowledges provided great
inspiration). I was also surprised and delighted to
recognize characters and situations from several of the
Bard's Italian plays, including The Comedy of Errors,
Romeo and Juliet, and Othello.
Fiorato studied Shakespeare's plays in their historical
context, and she puts that education to good use, showcasing
the political atmosphere of the time in a way that helps us,
the readers, understand the forces at work on these beloved
characters.
I highly recommend BEATRICE AND BENEDICK to anyone who
enjoys historical drama, romance, or the works of William
Shakespeare.
Hidden in the language of Shakespeare's best-loved comedy
Much Ado
About Nothing are several clues to an intriguing tale. It
seems that the witty
lovers Beatrice and Benedick had a previous love affair that
ended bitterly. But
how did they meet? Why did they part? And what brought them
together
again?
When nineteen-year-old Beatrice is brought to live at her
uncle's court in
Sicily to be a companion to his daughter, she first meets
Benedick, a young
soldier who is there with a Spanish lord on a month-long
sojourn. As they
begin to wage their war of wit, their words mask their deep
love for one
another. But the pair are cruelly parted by misunderstanding
and slander.
Heartbroken, Benedick sails to England on the ill-fated
Spanish Armada.
Beatrice returns to her home in the North and an unwanted
betrothal. While
Benedick must fight for his life on board ship, Beatrice
fights for her freedom
from an arranged marriage.
From the point of view of Beatrice and Benedick we hear the
lovers tell their
own story, taking us from the sunlit southern courts of
Sicily, to the crippled
Armada on the frozen northern seas, to the gorgeous
Renaissance cities of the
north.
From Marina Fiorato, author of the acclaimed historical
novel The Glassblower
of Murano, comes a beautifully imagined Beatrice and Benedick.
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