You're right. History was a springboard for Whittemore's imagination.

Thanks for the Durrell reference: I knew there was one in Jerusalem Poker, thanks to an article on this site, but I didn't know what it was.

I've not read The Alexandria Quartet yet, but I'd like to.

Just found an allusion to Ulysses in Jerusalem Poker, by the way, but i think Joyce is deliberately misquoted here.

Jean-Daniel

--Previous Message--
: Indeed.
:
: 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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