Ebook512 pages8 hours
The Moneylender: A Novel of the Inner Life of Shakespeare's Shylock
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
Since 16th century in England, when Shakespeare first conjured him, Shylock, the moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, has been a magnet for vilification of Jews by theatre audiences the world over. Little is known of this character, fashioned from and carrying forward the prevailing Elizabethan age antisemitic stereotype, who speaks only seventy-nine lines in the entire play.
The character Shylock reinforces the stigmatism and mistreatment of Jews as "Christ-killers" and greedy moneylenders so malevolent that one would demand a pound of debtor's flesh in payment.
Such is the dilemma for Jewish theater director David Adler-Sterne, commissioned to direct Merchant in San Diego, but who sees Shylock as much victim as villain. It is a dilemma of casting and direction that motivates him to visit Venice, and the Ghetto that likely would have been the residence of any actual16th-century Jewish moneylender in Venice.
Interspersed with Adler-Sterne's quest for inspiration from the atmospherics of the Ghetto is the story of real moneylender Shalukeh Mizrah in the late 1500s, who was brutalized and humiliated by Venetian Christians. Much of Shalukeh's story and the sources of his yearning for vengeance are recounted in a secret chronicle that he begins after his maltreatment by his debtors.
Shalukeh's manuscript, the biography of a Portuguese crypto-Jewish converso, has remained secreted in a Ghetto synagogue for over 500 years, but is fortuitously discovered during a renovation project just days before Adler-Sterne is to return to America, and a person who might have been the model or inspiration for Shakespeare's Shylock is tantalizingly revealed.
Shalukeh's Chronicle is a story of religious persecution, lies, deceit, deception, torture, murder, and revenge that extends from antiquity to the present day and has been transmitted in historical facts and by a stereotypical character and famous work of fiction. But all fiction has its origins in reality.
The character Shylock reinforces the stigmatism and mistreatment of Jews as "Christ-killers" and greedy moneylenders so malevolent that one would demand a pound of debtor's flesh in payment.
Such is the dilemma for Jewish theater director David Adler-Sterne, commissioned to direct Merchant in San Diego, but who sees Shylock as much victim as villain. It is a dilemma of casting and direction that motivates him to visit Venice, and the Ghetto that likely would have been the residence of any actual16th-century Jewish moneylender in Venice.
Interspersed with Adler-Sterne's quest for inspiration from the atmospherics of the Ghetto is the story of real moneylender Shalukeh Mizrah in the late 1500s, who was brutalized and humiliated by Venetian Christians. Much of Shalukeh's story and the sources of his yearning for vengeance are recounted in a secret chronicle that he begins after his maltreatment by his debtors.
Shalukeh's manuscript, the biography of a Portuguese crypto-Jewish converso, has remained secreted in a Ghetto synagogue for over 500 years, but is fortuitously discovered during a renovation project just days before Adler-Sterne is to return to America, and a person who might have been the model or inspiration for Shakespeare's Shylock is tantalizingly revealed.
Shalukeh's Chronicle is a story of religious persecution, lies, deceit, deception, torture, murder, and revenge that extends from antiquity to the present day and has been transmitted in historical facts and by a stereotypical character and famous work of fiction. But all fiction has its origins in reality.
Read more from Sebastian Gerard
Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones: A Novel of Coming of Age Catholic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForsaken: Terror and recompense in a flyover town Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Moneylender
Related ebooks
Omens in the Year of the Ox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Pictures, As Seen and Described by Famous Writers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greatest Novels of George Sand: Indiana, Mauprat, The Countess of Rudolstadt, Valentine, Leone Leoni, Antonia… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeceived: Bitter Harvest, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Abomination: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5La Grenadiere by Honoré de Balzac - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poison Pen of Romance - George Sand Collection (Series 5) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBitter Harvest Series, Books 1-3: Bitter Harvest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRainbow's End Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rabbi of Lud Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Devil's Pool Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bridge of San Luis Rey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHavana Run Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Etruscan Spring: April in Paris Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeorge Sand: Collected Novels: Indiana, Mauprat, The Countess of Rudolstadt, Valentine, Leone Leoni, Antonia… Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDomitia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDomitia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Events of World History - Volume 7 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Curse of Dr. Cagliari Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPersona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Trail of The Immigrant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wind from All Directions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil’s Pool Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDomitia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod's Zoo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greatest Works of George Sand Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Country of the Blind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Women (Complete 4 Books) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Renaissance Fiction For You
The Dead of Winter: Three Giordano Bruno Novellas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Mona Lisa: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disobedient Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Virgins of Venice: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Temptation's Darling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medicis Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What a Woman Can Do: A Novel Based on the Life of Artemisia Gentileschi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Jew: A Novel of The Spanish Inquisition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Don Quixote Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Mercy Seller: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of the Stone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrlando, A Biography: The Virginia Woolf Library Authorized Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSins of the House of Borgia Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The King's Curse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Virgin Earth: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stolen Lady: A Novel of World War II and the Mona Lisa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Respectable Trade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wolf Hall: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bring Up the Bodies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Supper: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I, Iago: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom of Liars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of York: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Martyr: The First John Shakespeare Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Butcher's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistress of the Sun: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recital of the Dark Verses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame Serpent: A Catherine de' Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Sisters, Three Queens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Moneylender
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Moneylender - Sebastian Gerard
|e book_preview_excerpt.html }ݒƑ`uc;96%˶~B<EcBC[sWݨ.
P4{{6&zߗY3BUV旙_f}7~^}Ϗ}q-|7w7.z>nni}]:ũjxt]%;I~xG$^UOkdwt7q:[_=ܷ_\埛ʍU]RМMպW.U{7?|຺z:p4Kdx~SɅإPכj+WGn^SwAt?R8FYaDQ:(b܁WLN;|~;0FbjQJwWe20ƫEƩ7
7 4;8"vWU'3ʟ諯B;4m]xuQe2wzߺI_ey*
Mg<|B7:mއwDl 77ߵqD:/]xҗߒ:֒ϕ܍2\O!Ad;ԫ2yeo"m7X
$^cOcqePR?$]A&A~l[y,{Ch.)߿I!k$ ȏ-5Adݒ'탧J4NenکmQ[(rҹ8E^~eةi8PBj.RphTesPˌ2G#e
R0NեgyZJe4+qSpUإ;X) 4$I2lVQH|Tةd8S&Zǘz݀"ףPG(OtݻotR~:1^?Zf.֢)'CSJdae+ELߓl.痍[-4#8w0r#!PE*D՟`ϼekOn;Qo+k%o\"=)O"&mQupE9/:ˈE!$ĉfc#3]$
; B_"}2&&*YHyI#z!N,7f>ʌRC&QE"N-,)KG\ynzRY|E 1V8bK8lg3 )陓a:{:F
=L.'vwH*5+滃;pXVc:x)D츺VU(vjʝddD"X6p*Yd2u]mvh4PNCqh0Su5So47L<ɓ~ݜ¸= 5ɨ![\6_80X$;vB+CNE)c:DЕX1NbTɞmc6MHuBԟĨ)sᓇm y",+R,Rhno(xy̴h3g/~TK$ރ'B!xIn\Pj"[1V8bV$a
}zgj&
&ypTI)k4$ok'BYi ECodSs\Z!NZ5v7E!I]SX-FDhŀֻi*N\q.ոeb
k[ Avw@')i[~}xLfy~եl{ jNoQ.P&RwDepp$v
*i:n2~s|`?l+]?]4t^UrThz6%Qm3֪Iחgj6m
sNEA+ D3'lg{ݮ oXIxFHbpa[?ݻrO(
$L,w_zEnM7
d#yN E xS^9!Zt 't?
|?k7Do"Uwz45& rg';Wo;G5J-ژ*ɦy]Z7MTd"t4ZXApYT|!8 C˷Y, E~C A*PQ$wT zCZ
j43wD:Ee[52P-wΣ8G Nfgetorm^O .nh\ZЍX%xNu+@F5ib0EChί&
ɛf Jk5 \BE[Ó %ɯmdmaĹc-~)(WB!6һ?Aqb9R(YE;:9˷`lo,-6prFc({ӱ
[7lfN.9>i[s~?k;w[\!dֱ(2m(` D]P[lw[ah\TrKngIAm
9ܽ
r,A@/чk(aNمb;:gԔ w~hCJ vg}Ի@<"DYA8zp1#JmrXRZ?c/'ibIk%q1߰kl[z
\&U!ĉ. ӕbtN֛IC\x!n:\4,Yn3aE7ig]_~%2.%O$)qEXh=D`'m, bGmoWdq\A Ao?AxU19Q,Wx\hl'ⷵRџUΈǂG{Fzfe/B6LԈh h^פ⪘:A>Hp*:DZIG