Fate - Marcus Hogan

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Résumé :
The origin of the famous name Capulet is not Italian but French. Interesting. And I suspect you didn't know when their faction settled in Verona, Juliet's parents didn't lead their glamorous house as primo Don and prima Donna. It was her aunt and uncle who settled in Verona first and clashed with Romeo's faction, the mighty House of Montecchi. As newlyweds the Capulets arrived from Lyon to visit a far flung relation, a sister who couldn't attend their nuptials. At that turning point of their marriage tour, two weeks were allowed to enjoy their time in Verona. Once returned to France, they would be expected to assume their new stations as premiere Sieur and Dame of the House of Capulet. That's what was expected. Capulet is their story, an epic genesis tale (6 volumes) that begins shortly after the tragic death of Saint Joan with the hopeful betrothal of two children, Armand de Capulet and Ilaria Marchand. The separate threads of their lives converge through their upbringing, courtship and a hasty war marriage that triggers their tour to Verona. Then a cascade of dire events ignites the famous feud and forces the newlyweds to linger. Armand's brother Tristan is summoned in support, intent on a swift return to Lyon until he meets Valentina (who will become Juliet's mother). Now three Capulets are held in Verona when a compatriot, the Duchess de Paris, arrives in pursuit of trade and proposes an alliance. The Capulets stay. The faction rises. But towering ambition comes at a towering cost. As a result of their bitter and bloody rivalry, more than one dear life is taken on both sides. Other familiar characters populate their story of course: Prince Escalus di Treviso, Count Astor de Paris, Thibault and Rosaline de Capulet, Friar Lorenzo, Juliet's nurse Galyna, revealing the beginnings of their associations with one another. Yet this is not only the tale of how the Capulets came to Verona, but of how the Capulets and Montecchi came to be at each other's throats and... well sweet friends you know their ending. Now it's high time you knew their beginning. Capulet is the love story of Armand and Ilaria, from their betrothal in Lyon (Book 1) 'til the day the sweeping events of the bitter feud, hand the reins of power over to Juliet's parents (final chapter of Book 6). At that moment, Armand and Ilaria's daughter Rosaline, is eight years old. Eight years later, two months before Juliet turns 14, Rosaline will meet Romeo. Take a deep breath and come along with us to reveal the untold story....

Biographie:
I conceived this project in Boston during the summer of '92 while producing my first Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet). It was staged at the Huntington Theatre Studio and sold out before we opened. That was when the notion of a prequel was born that would reveal how the famous families came to be at each other's throats, and how the associations between so many characters were first formed. The full story frame of Capulet (6 books) was written over 4 years writing 7 days a week 7 hours a day with just a few exceptions.For the trivial record, my first experience with Shakespeare was as a punishment in my last year of high school. I was given a detention for fighting (a bully was harassing a friend and though I'm no hero I intervened). The English Mistress who caught us made me memorise the 'quality of mercy' monologue from The Merchant of Venice. It had to be word perfect to avoid another stay. She told me it wasn't word perfect. But she said I was 'good' and would let me off if I agreed to audition for the play. I did. Somehow I managed to get the lead.That led me to a BA in Drama at the University of Queensland. UQ led me to a BFA in Acting at Cornish College in the USA. That led to specialised study at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in NY (closed after 9/11) and finally an MFA scholarship to study Directing at Boston University. Fast forward 25 years. I began this project in earnest during the last few months of the pandemic.I hope their tale moves you. I found it very moving to write.Marcus Hogan...

Sommaire:
Set in France and Italy during the spiralling age of the early Renaissance, the CAPULET series is a passionate predecessor to the world's most famous love story, a genesis tale of how Romeo and Juliet's families came to be at each other's throats. In 1434 two innocent children, Armand and Ilaria are promised at birth. She is a merchant princess. He is the premiere son of a martial house. Despite the rising influence of passionate writers who advocate couples should now marry for love, no one expects this pair to grow to love each other. All expect them to marry and lead a warlike faction - the mighty French House of Capulet. And so, drawn together by fate and familial design, while France remains on a knife edge with their English enemies, they must learn to survive the glamorous but ruthless world of elite ambition, passion and power they're destined to navigate together. CAPULET is their sprawling tale, often humorous, elegant and heartfelt, sometimes gritty, brutal and relentless, while Ilaria's predilection to experience premonitions and cross the path of foresighted mystics, creates expectations that lead the couple on to heart-stopping moments and volatile outcomes. Book 1 - FATE begins in Lyon with the events that lead to the betrothal of Armand and Ilaria. The saga completes at the end of Book 6 - FOLLY on a day when the sweeping events of a bitter feud, ignited with another faction, cause the reins of power to be handed over to Armand's brother (Juliet's father). At that moment, Armand and Ilaria's son Thibault is ten years old and their daughter Rosaline just eight. Eight years later, two months before their cousin Juliet turns fourteen, Rosaline will meet Romeo before her younger cousin and the history of love will be altered forever. But CAPULET is also the story of how a third mighty faction, led by a fiery young Duchess, joins in their rivalry. The feminine powerbroker swears the loyalty of her house to one side but adds fresh powder to their rivalry that threatens to ignite in both directions at once. Their epic tale is told by Armand and Ilaria's longest serving employee, a sharp-tongued, roguish musician. Marcel Poquelin finds himself in their company by chance, as both begin their final training for adulthood. At first the wily entertainer has little time or respect for either one, considering Armand no more than an elite muscular oaf and Ilaria a pampered coquette. Nor is he responsible to either one directly, intent on his own plan to return from whence he came to Paris, far from their indolent company, and make a mark for himself. But you know what the ancients say? Men and women make their ambitious plans just so fate can play havoc with them....