I have been thinking about the way Whittemore uses history. He reports the facts accurately and then it is as if he goes on to ask "What happened next?" and formulates his own quirky outcome. The books are really a fictionalised secret history. One always has the impression that something beyond explanation is being conveyed.

By the way, did you notice the reference to "The Alexandria Quartet" by Lawrence Durrell in Jerusalem Poker? It's on page 216 of the OEB edition. It refers to the poems of Arnauti who happens to be Justine's old lover in the novel "Justine".

Cheers,

Anne

--Previous Message--
: Anne,
:
: I see what you mean, indeed.
: Tapestry is definitely the word.
:
: You know, the more I get into the Quartet,
: the more I see the similarities with
: Tolkien. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn,
: Gandalf et al are reenacting the mighty
: deeds of a bygone golden age, they are but
: shadows of their ancestors.
:
: The same thread runs through the Quartet,
: with characters like Joe, Stern and Munk
: longing for the 19th century, the time where
: giants like Strongbow, Johann Luigi Szondi
: and Menelik Ziwar roamed the Earth.
:
: No offense to the critics, but I think the
: Quartet is in need of serious critical
: attention.
:
: Jean-Daniel
:
: --Previous Message--
: Jean-Daniel,
:
: I don't know about "Our Colly" but
: the link below has the story of Joe's
: ancestors as told in "Sinai
: Tapestry"
:
: Anne
:
: --Previous Message--
: : Anne--
: I did not KNOW anything about the O'Sullivan
: Beare clan, but I was getting there.
: Tell me, "Our Colly" was for real,
: that's it?
:
: Yakouba was the subject of a book by William
: Seabrook. I'll have to look it up, but it
: seems the White Monk didn't live in the same
: time frame as "Strongbow".
:
: As for Johann Luigi Burckhardt, he was one
: of the first Christians/white men to enter
: Medina, and he rediscovered Petra. His name
: is mentioned in Jericho Mosaic, which
: aroused my suspicions.
:
: I'll keep you posted.
:
: Jean-Daniel
: --Previous Message--
: I knew about Numa Numantius and I have tried
: to find references to Yakouba and Johann
: Luigi (recently)
:
: I suppose you already know about the
: O'Sullivan Beare Clan.
:
: Google is a wonderful thing.
:
: Cheers,
:
: Anne
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I just wrote:
: Did you know that
: some of the more extravagant characters in
: the Quartet are not fictitious? Numa
: Numantius and Yakouba, the White Monk of
: Timbuktu, for instance.
:
: How about a new feature on this site,
: "Historical Sources of the
: Quartet," for instance?
:
: Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.
:
: Check Johann Luigi Burckhardt on Google...
:
: Who needs fantasy? Reality beats the hell
: out of it anytime.
:
: Jean-Daniel (still waiting for 50,000 people
: to show up: they want to see this baby fly)
:
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