BOOKWORM

READING RAFAEL SABATINI continues with table 2

table 2

DATE	LIFE	WORK
1915, April	Rafael is 40	The Act of Faith [to become Hounds of God]
2 October		Duroc
		The Roundhead's Bargain
November		The Quittance
December		The Poachers
?		?The Fugitive?
?		?Fructidor? [possibly became The Reaping]
?		The Sea-Hawk
?		The Banner of the Bull
	Rafael may have translated The History of the Harlequinade by Maurice Sand pub. by Secker; JFK thought so.
1916, February		The Mask [to become The Stalking Horse]
March		The Scourge [to become Fortune's Fool]
May	Rafael is 41	The Camisade
1917, June	Rafael is 42	The Night of Escape
December		Historical Nights' Entertainment, 1st series
?		The Snare
?	edits The Book of Sea Trout by Hamish Stuart
1918, January		The Arcanum
		Intelligence
March		The Augmentation of Mercury
April	Rafael is 43	The Priest of Mars
May		The Oracle
June		Under the Leads
July		The Rooks and the Hawk
August		The Polish Duel
1919, June	Rafael is 44	The Night of Doom [to become The Minion]
5 December		The Sentimentalist
		The Scapulary
?		Historical Nights' Entertainment, 2nd series
1920, 15 November	Rafael is 45	While the Clock Ticked
December		The Usurer's Daughter
		The Marriage of Beaumartin
1921, 15 July	Rafael is 46	Casanova in Madrid
1 August		Blood Money
10 October		Hostage
20 October		Captain Blood's Dilemma
?		The Lord of Time
?		Scaramouche
	collaborates with J E Harold Terry on play, produced in New York	The Rattlesnake
	writes the screenplay	Bluff
1922	Rafael is 47	Captain Blood
	writes the screenplay	The Scourge
	writes the screenplay	The Recoil
1923, July	Rafael is 48	The Girl He Got at the Pawnshop
August?		Fortune's Fool [serialised in US, Dec.'22 & Feb.'23
	The Rattlesnake is produced in London, & he writes, for production in New York, the play	Scaramouche
1924, October	Rafael is 49	The Luck of Capoulade
November?		The Carolinian [serialised in US, June - December]
	collaborates with Leon M Lion [yes, that's his name!] on play produced in London	In the Snare
	revises	Torquemada
	and	Cesare Borgia
	?writes article?	The Revenge of the Queen
1925, February		In the Shadow of the Guillotine [ pt 1 of The Reaping]
9 May	Rafael is 50; he writes an article	Are You An Ancestor?
	and a play, produced in Birmingham & London	The Tyrant
	revises	The Strolling Saint
	collaborates with J E Harold Terry on a play, produced in Detroit & New York	The Carolinian
1926, August?	Rafael is 51	Bellarion [serialised in US, 7 pts, Feb. – Aug.]
1927, January		The Nuptials of Corbigny [to become Nuptials of Corbal]
1 April	Rafael-Angelo dies in a car crash; Rafael senior suffers "nervous exhaustion". He turns 52 & misses the opening of Glasgow production of Scaramouche, (also produced in London)
October		The Nuptials of Corbal
November		The Catchpoll
?	writes an Introduction for The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
1928, October?	Rafael is 53	The Hounds of God
1929, April?	Rafael is 54	The Romantic Prince [ serialised in US, Apr. – June]
June		Dagger and Sword
July		Rendezvous
?		The Reaping
1930, February		Ransom
March		The Blank Shot
April	Rafael is 55	The Treasure Ship
May		The King's Messenger
		[May to August, 4 pt serial, The Stalking Horse]
June		The Love Story of Jeremy Pitt
July		The War Indemnity
August		Gallows Key
September		The Expiation of Mme. de Coulevain
October		The Gratitude of M. de Coulevain
		The Minion [in US The King's Minion, serialised in 7 pts, Apr. – Oct.]
November	The Tyrant is produced in New York

Ruth Heredia is the originator and holds the copyright to all material on this blog unless credited to some source. Please do not use it or pass it off as your own work. That is theft. If you wish to link it, quote it, or reprint in whole or in part, please be courteous enough to seek my permission.

BOOKWORM

For readers of Sabatini, especially from the Rafael Sabatini Group, here is the first table for reference, if you want to arrive at a better understanding of this very private person as man & writer.

The tables are subject to modification after the eagerly-awaited biography cum bibliography by Jesse F. Knight and Steve Darley comes out.

Correction of the following text should be mailed to the author.

READING RAFAEL SABATINI

table 1

DATE	LIFE	WORK
1875, 29 April	Rafael is born
1892	Rafael begins to work as translator of commercial correspondence
1895/96	Rafael begins to write stories & articles, but doesn't immediately seek publication. Christine is born around this time
1898, December	Rafael's first published story – found thus far by JFK (2007). He is 23 yrs old	The Red Mask
1899, June	Rafael is 24	The Fool's Love Story
September		The Vicomte's Wager
November		The Curate and the Actress
December		Sword and Mitre
1900, January		The Dupes
May	Rafael is 25	The Coward
June		The Malediction
August		The Red Owl
		The Outlaw of Falkensteig
September		The Evidence of the Sword
October		Out of the Dice Box
December		D'Aubeville's Enterprise
1901, January		The Marquis' Coach
February		Tommy
March		The Lottery Ticket
June	Rafael is 26	The Hostage
August		The Nuptials of Lindenstein
September		The Republic's Seal
November		Loaded Dice
December		Of What Befell at Bailienochy
		The Outlaw and the Lady
		[28 Dec.- Mar. 1902, 11 pt serial, The Lovers of Yvonne]
1902	collaborates with Stephanie Baring on play, prod. in Luton, Bedfordshire	Kuomi the Jester
January		After Worcester Field
February		Chancellor's Daughter
March		Carolus and Caroline
April	Rafael is 27	In the Eleventh Hour
August		Under the Red Seal
September		The Jealousy of Delventhal
November		The Shriving of Felsheim
? UK, May (US)		The Lovers (UK)/ Suitors (US) of Yvonne
1903, October	Rafael is 28	The Duellist's Wife
		The Ghost of Citizen Duvallon
November		The Ducal Rival
Nov? Dec?		The Siege of Savigny
1904, January		Mademoiselle de Castelroc [to become Trampling of the Lilies]
February		The Sacrifice
March		The Locket
May?	Rafael is 29; he is courting Ruth Goad Dixon	My Lady Roseton
July		Judge Foscaro's Crime
August		The Face of the Clock
September		The Devourer of Hearts
		The Metamorphosis of Colin
?		The Tavern Knight, dedicated "to R.G.D."
1905	Rafael marries Ruth; resigns his job & becomes a full-time writer
March		Annabel's Wager
May	Rafael is 30	The Captain of the Guard
July		The Spiritualist
December		His Last Chance
?		Some Verses to Alexia
?		The Rubicon
1906, 14 January		The Copyhunter
July	Rafael is 31	Wirgman's Theory
September		The Baker of Rousillon
October		The Spurs of Jealousy
December		Mr Dewbury's Consent
?		Bardelys the Magnificent [ser. April -?]
?		The Trampling of the Lilies
1907, May	Rafael is 32	The Elopement
2 July		The Opportunist
September		The Plague of Ghosts
October		The Fortunes of War
December.		The Risen Dead
?		Love-at-Arms, dedicated to "My Wife"
1908, 27 June	Rafael is 33	The Justice of the Duke
July		The Bargain
August		The Act of Sequestration
September		The Usurpers [to become St Martin's Summer]
December		The Abduction
?		The Shame of Motley
1909, March		The Avenger
April	Rafael-Angelo is born; his father, Rafael is 34
August		Monsieur Delamort
?		St Martin's Summer
1910	collaborates with Henry Hamilton on play, prod. in Birmingham	Bardelys the Magnificent
January		Gismondi's Wage
February		The Pasquinade
October	Rafael is 35	The Lust of Conquest
		The Foster-Lover
?		Anthony Wilding (UK), Arms and the Maid (US) dedicated "To Rafael-Angelo"
1911	Rafael is 36; Bardelys is produced in London & he writes	The Fugitives
August		The Pretender
?		The Lion's Skin
1912, February.		The Blackmailer
August	Rafael is 37	Ambs-Ace
		The Dream
?		The Justice of the Duke
?		The Life of Cesare Borgia
?after 1912?		Forestalled
1913, February.		Playing with Fire
April	Rafael is 38; has his marriage already begun to sour?	The Ordeal
June		The Altruist
September		The Wedding Gift
December		The Tapestried Room
?		The Strolling Saint
?		Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition
1914	Rafael turns 39; around this time (1914/15) Christine would have been around 20. We don't have a date for her marriage to Lancelot Dixon, but she may have entered his circle about this time
May		The Heresy of Don Ramon
August		The Sword of Islam (sh. st.)
September		The Valet Mystery
		Casanova's Alibi
October		Shrinkage
November		Kynaston's Reckoning
?		The Gates of Doom
	at some time after World War I breaks out, Rafael is employed by the British Govt to work in Intelligence, as a translator (for ciphers & codes)

Ruth Heredia is the originator and holds the copyright to all material on this blog unless credited to some source. Please do not use it or pass it off as your own work. That is theft. If you wish to link it, quote it, or reprint in whole or in part, please be courteous enough to seek my permission.

BOOKWORM

For fellow members of the Rafael Sabatini Group who are about to begin regular discussions of each novel in turn, here is something drawn up a while ago for someone close (therefore having access to the same books), who was going to read the novels in order and give her unbiased opinion. It may be useful to others.

Points to consider when analysing & commenting on the novels

Narrative voice:

~ 3^rd person – author as narrator

~ 1^st person – protagonist as narrator

~ 1^st person – a supporting character as narrator

~ 1^st person – more than one supporting character as narrator [e.g. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins]

What are the difficulties inherent in the chosen voice?

Is there any outstanding achievement/tour de force in using the chosen voice, or in overcoming the particular limitations of the chosen voice? [Consider The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie]

Time:

In what period is the story set? Any disadvantages? Any advantage?

What is the time-span covered by the narrative? Can the narrative pace sustain the length, if it is a long period? Any gains? Any losses?

Place:

In what country/ location is the story set?

If it is a fantasy, are there any deliberately allusive details/teasing hints? [e.g. Morning Star by Rider Haggard is clearly set in Egypt, even if at no specific period in its ancient history, but The Blue Hawk by Peter Dickinson never gives any such indication of a locale yet the reader gets the clearest sense of its being set in ancient Egypt.]

Characters:

Main characters

Are these types, or is each unique to its story?

Is there a noticeable tendency to repeat a certain type? What are the characteristics of the type in question? [Consider the number of protagonists in Sabatini’s fiction & non-fiction that are illegitimate sons.]

Supporting characters

What are the classes that are represented, and what is the treatment of each as a class?

Are all characters from a class given a fixed set of characteristics? [Consider the treatment of policemen in detective fiction, at a certain period of history.]

Are certain types repeated? [e.g. the faithful all-purpose man-servant attached to the protagonist; the long-suffering but loyal innkeeper, etc.]

Real-life characters

Are these used at all?

Do they take part actively in the story, or are they merely part of the local colour?

If they take active part how are they accommodated to a fictitious narrative? – successfully?

Are there any ‘trademarks’ in an author’s habitual treatment of such characters? [Consider Sabatini’s clever clues to the half-real-half-fictitious character of ‘St. Just’ in Scaramouche the Kingmaker; & the unnoticeable juggling of dates to do with the Comte de Puisaye in The Marquis of Carabas.]

Local colour:

Costume; modes of transport; houses with their furnishings & their grounds – this applies to ships also – all that in cinema would be covered by ‘production’. How are these treated?

Language:

Is the language of the narrative suited to the narrative voice used?

Is there much direct speech, & if there is, how convincing is it?

Does the author appear to have some favourite words/expressions/usages?

Could these be said to constitute a signature or trademark of the author’s writing?

Does it seem to you a weakness to be excused, an unbearable/scarcely bearable annoyance, or a special charm/endearing trait?

Tone:

Is the tone of the narrative

serious – ‘high serious’

‘sentimental/romantic serious’

‘ironic [even ‘disenchanted’] serious?

light [even flippant] – as in a comedy of manners?

romantic-sentimental – the kind in which, typically, two very difficult/tiresome characters who are destined to be/already are in love, stupidly set obstacles in each other’s way, obstinately misunderstand each other, pass through numerous, mostly needless trials [each of which would capsize an ordinary human] & unnecessary fits of the dismals, & exasperate the reader before finally falling into an embrace?

Research/Preparation:

Does the author appear to have mastered his/her material, especially in period fiction?

Is there an odour of candle-grease & dusty manuscripts about the narrative, or is the research worn lightly/used subtly? [Consider the admirably thorough research but oh so soporific effect of George Eliot’s Romola.]

Influences:

What influences, if any, can be discerned in the work; and if there is an influence or more than one, is it to be found in the earlier books, does it wane as the writer develops his own individual style, or – and this would be rather strange – does the influence show quite late?

Finally, a work of art is more than the sum of all its parts. Does this work, really work? Is it a pleasure to read?

Would you want to read it again?

Would you want to own a copy so as to have it at hand whenever you feel like re-reading a part/the whole book?

Any other comment?

This is not a scholarly guide - heaven forbid! - but just one person's notion of how the novels might be read. Another 'template', of a kind, for the next.

Ruth Heredia is the originator and holds the copyright to all material on this blog unless credited to some source. Please do not use it or pass it off as your own work. That is theft. If you wish to link it, quote it, or reprint in whole or in part, please be courteous enough to seek my permission.