QotW (#69): 25 February 2019

If you flick over to my Goodreads page, you’ll see me taking in a lot more historical fiction this year, and unusually, this week’s quotation is taken from one of them – albeit the introduction.

It’s something to especially bear in mind now The Merchant of Venice has come round in my read-through.

In many ways the Elizabethans were not very nice people. They were sexually and racially prejudiced, often bigoted, often unashamedly cruel to animals and each other. It is as daft to give nice liberal opinions on homosexuality or feminism or even democracy (a dirty word to an Elizabethan) to the people of 400 years ago as it would be to dress them in top hats and frock coats instead of ruffs and doublets and give them Colt 45s to shoot. [b]

 

 

This is, in fact, what finally attracted me to Patricia Finney‘s book.  The prospect of devouring dirty deeds done by dastardly dudes.  And, yes, perhaps it is a reaction against the political correctness of so much modern stuff.  And, yes, maybe I should check my privilege, but not today … just reading for fun …

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[a] quotation taken from http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org

[b] Patricia Finney, Firedrake’s Eye (kindle edition), (Climbing Tree Books: Truro, 1992)