Justice - Marcus Hogan

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Résumé :
The epic series prequel to Romeo & Juliet continues. Two houses will clash. One patriarch will fall. The year is 1451. French newlyweds Armand & Ilaria de Capulet (recently announced young leaders of their powerful faction in Lyon) are completing a marriage tour and arrived in the outskirts of Verona to finally greet his sister Aurelie and her husband Sabatino Cortellani. But before arriving at their sprawling estate in the northern hills, taken completely by surprise, Armand and Ilaria clashed with the Cortellani's closest neighbor. His name is Onorato Montecchi (Romeo's uncle), a mercenary warlord known as the Black Wolf of Verona. And with his fiery wife Esmeralda, both are known to all as the primo Don and prima Donna of the citadel's most powerful faction. Before sunset on that first day, Onorato's brother (Romeo's father) arrived at the Cortellani estate to issue a challenge to Armand to meet the Black Wolf in a winner-takes-all, duel to the death. With no chance to avoid it, the young French Chevalier accepted the challenge, nominating to meet at sunrise the next day in Verona's ancient arena. Book 3 in our gripping series opens upon that fateful morning. Armand departs in the pre-dawn darkness with a grim entourage to meet his fate. It will be the first time he enters through the gates of Verona and the terms of his engagement seem clear. Once the combat begins, no quarter may be asked, none will be given. The grim appointment must leave just one of two alive. The premiere Sieur of Capulet will face the primo Don of Montecchi and the lives of all in both factions will be altered forever. Within just one chapter a result is revealed. Yet what follows the encounter unleashes a riot as bedlam greets chaos on the streets of Verona. The clash between the factions expands as screams for vengeance and cries for justice ring out through the citadel....

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:
The epic series prequel to Romeo & Juliet continues. Two houses will clash. One patriarch will fall. The year is 1451. French newlyweds Armand & Ilaria de Capulet (recently announced leaders of their powerful faction in Lyon) were completing a marriage tour and arrived in the outskirts of Verona to finally greet his sister Aurelie and husband Sabatino Cortellani. But before arriving at their sprawling estate in the northern hills, taken completely by surprise, Armand and Ilaria clashed with the Cortellani's closest neighbor. His name is Onorato Montecchi (Romeo's uncle), a mercenary warlord known as the Black Wolf of Verona. Along with his fiery wife Esmeralda, both are known to all as the primo Don and prima Donna of Verona's most powerful faction. Before sunset on that first day, Onorato's brother (Romeo's father) arrived at the Cortellani estate to issue a challenge to Armand to meet Onorato in a winner-takes-all, duel to the death. With no chance to avoid it, the young French Chevalier has accepted the challenge, nominating to meet at sunrise the next day in Verona's ancient arena. Book 3 in our gripping series opens upon that fateful morning. Armand departs in the pre-dawn darkness with a grim entourage to meet his fate. It will be the first time he enters through the gates of Verona and the terms of his engagement seem clear. Once the combat begins, no quarter may be asked, none will be given. The grim appointment must leave just one of two alive. The premiere Sieur of Capulet will face the primo Don of Montecchi and the lives of all in both factions will be altered forever. Within just one chapter a result is revealed. Yet what follows the encounter unleashes a riot as bedlam greets chaos on the streets of Verona. The clash between the factions expands as screams for vengeance and cries for justice ring out through the citadel....