The "Old Lodge" or Speke Hall back in the days of yore ... |
SPOILER ALERT! We (The Daemons) approach this podcast with an assumption that the listener has read The All Souls Trilogy, including A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life. If you haven't, and you don't mind, we certainly don't mind! 😊 Let's do this.
*Note - this podcast is labeled 'explicit'
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1. Show notes:
For newcomers to the series:- We'll start with the basics: The books in discussion are A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life. Together they make The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.- Our Daemon Guides to the All Souls Trilogy are available for download: ADOW, SON, TBOL
Deb's newsletter - The Blast; subscribe on her website |
- Deborah Harkness usually conducts a real-time reading on her Facebook Page (starting in September), and shares her posts across social media. Check out her website for all of her social media links, and of course all that she has to offer her readers! Be sure to sign up for her newsletter while you are there!
- To see what's available on the web as far as the All Souls universe fandom, check our links page.
In this episode:
* (01:55) – Thank you Discussers, NE Angela, Stephen, Ed and Lauren! See full emails here
* (08:08) – The dedication – dedicated to Lacey Baldwin Smith – Jean mentions the book Elizabethan Age -- she misspoke; the actual title is The Elizabethan World
To Lacey Baldwin Smith, master storyteller and historian, who suggested some time ago that I should think about writing a novel.a. Chapter 1
Tudor roses on a ceiling |
* (11:43) – Matthew is appearing to want to settle in (when this was supposed to be an in/out trip).
“The roses were obligatory when the house was built,” Matthew commented drily. “I can’t stand them. We’ll paint them all white at the first opportunity.”* (12:20) – Diana, for the first time, is happy to be a witch.
For the first time in my life, I was absolutely delighted to be a witch. As a historian I studied the past. Because I was a witch, I could actually visit it. We had come to 1590 to school me in the lost arts of magic, yet there was so much more that I could learn here.* (13:23) – Angela liked that Diana was naiive about this trip. Her bubble was continually popped. Beginning with Kit.
“Wherever did you find that?” Marlowe pointed, his voice dripping with contempt. I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see some hideous work of art. There was nothing but empty space.He meant me. My smile faltered.* (14:29) – Blackfriers Bess . . .
“Is Diana her real name, or was it adopted to enhance her allure among customers? Perhaps a baring of her right breast, or a bow and arrow, is in order,” Marlowe suggested, picking up a sheet of paper. “Remember when Blackfriars Bess demanded we call her Aphrodite before she would let us—”* (14:58) – Valerie realized (this read) that Kit turned her immediately off by rifling through Matthew’s things.
Shock passed over Matthew’s face before his lips curved into an affectionate smile. “Where are you in truth, my own sweet Matt?” The man held a page up to the light. In a flash, Matthew’s eyes narrowed, indulgence replaced by displeasure.“Looking for something, Kit?”* (16:30) – Angela mentions that Kit was doing what Jean mentioned in the panel of ASC; Kit was being a love-sick stalker.
* (16:44) – Diana wants to fan-girl Kit, because she recognized his face from an image on the back of her copy of The Jew of Malta (an aside ☞ The Jew of Malta is said to be an inspirational piece for Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ William is a magpie! Also, according to Kit, “a thief and a hack”). We also note that Diana is trying to understand Elizabethan English.
* (17:27) – What's an 'ague'? Definition of ague:
1 :a fever (such as malaria) marked by paroxysms of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervals
2 :a fit of shivering
* (17:57) – Here goes Kit with his foul-snark! Angela states she has no basis for liking Kit …she just did. Jean just saw it as Kit being love-sick.
* (19:13) – Kit reports on George (who we have yet to meet).
" [...] George has been here for some time, of course, eating your food and reading your books. He is still without a patron and hasn’t a farthing to his name.”* (20:30) – The brothel remark! Damn! Angela suggests that Kit was extra anxious to reveal juicy tidbits like that.
“I had no idea there was a brothel in Woodstock that specialized in overtall women. Most of your whores are more delicate and appealing, Matthew. This one is a positive Amazon,” Kit sniffed* (21:20) – Matthew finally shuts Kit down.
“Diana is my wife.” Matthew was gone from my side, his hand no longer wrapped around mine but twisted in Marlowe’s collar.“No.” Kit’s face registered his shock.* (21:48) – Jean notes that Chester is approx. 120 miles away from the Old Lodge. That commute via horseback would be a bit hard . . .
“Matt! Pierre said you were in Chester and might not make it home. But I knew you would not miss our annual gathering.”* (22:2) – Enter Pierre and Françoise
With a clatter of dishes, two vampires appeared in the room. One was a slender man with an expressive face, weather-beaten skin the color of a hazelnut, and black hair and eyes. He was holding a flagon of wine and a goblet whose stem was shaped into a dolphin, the bowl balanced on its tail. The other was a rawboned woman bearing a platter of bread and cheese.* (23:00) – The term 'milord' enters our lexicon in this story. We discuss servant treatment, and being dressed and washed. Lol! We go over “the whore’s bath” … thanks, Jean!
“You are home, milord,” the man said, obviously confused. Oddly enough, his French accent made him easier to understand. “The messenger on Thursday said—”* (24:36) – Diana’s hair has changed.
“What’s happened to your hair?” Matthew held up a strawberry blond curl.* (25:20) – The mated earring! Where did this come from? We discuss the accumulation of things from Matthew’s family. Valerie brings up the fact that Ysabeau and Louisa were big packers, and probably littered Matthew's various homes with their things over time.
Like Matthew’s copy of Doctor Faustus and the small silver figure of Diana, the earring was one of the items that had helped us return to this particular past. Françoise rummaged in a nearby chest and found its match easily. My jewelry sorted out, she snaked thick stockings over my knees and secured them with scarlet ribbons.* (27:56) – Diana realized this George is George Chapman – read this Weekly Geek on George.
“I am George Chapman, Mistress Roydon.”His name was familiar. I picked through the disorganized knowledge stored in my historian’s brain. Chapman was not an alchemist—that was my research specialty, and I did not find his name in the spaces devoted to that arcane subject. He was another writer, like Marlowe, but I couldn’t recall any of the titles.* (28:58) – George: Matthew, what’s up? You don’t like witches! Matthew: This one is cool, though. Relax, man. I married her.
“But you do not like witches any more than Kit does, Matthew. You have always discouraged me from attending to the subject. When I set out to write a poem about Hecate, you told me to—”“I like this one. So much so, I married her,”* (29:10) – Hecate (Hekete)
* (29:22) – George included Diana in conversation. He went out of his way to be polite. Kit interrupted with an offer to read from Faustus. We also conclude that if Diana wasn’t there, Matthew would’ve listened to Faustus. This version probably had a wayward witch in it.
* (30:50) – The next morning – a private person’s personal nightmare!
He untied its ruffled neckline and was about to plant a kiss underneath my ear to persuade me to his point of view when someone ripped open the bed’s curtains. I squinted against the bright sunlight.“Well?” Marlowe demanded.
Roanoke Coloney |
32:00 – Françoise kicks them out.
“Out! Madame must wash before she greets his lordship.” Françoise entered the room with a steaming basin of water in her hands. Pierre, as usual, trailed behind.* (32:12) – Pierre throws Matthew his britches
Pierre, familiar with the signs of a woman on the edge, hastily thrust a set of black britches at my husband so he wouldn’t be bare-legged when my anger erupted.* (32:56) – George brings the news that Lord Northumberland is right downstairs.
George inquired from beyond the curtains. He’d entered the room unannounced, neatly foiling Françoise’s efforts to herd the other men out. “Lord Northumberland has been left alone in the great hall. If he were my patron, I would not treat him thus!”* (33:31) – Of course Shakespeare’s not downstairs!
“Of course Will’s not down there.” Matthew waved his hand dismissively. “Walter doesn’t approve of his command of meter, and Kit thinks he’s a hack and a thief.”* (34:40) – Matthew is actually Matthew Roydon
* (35:26) – Mad, bad and dangerous to know!
* (36:26) – Françoise finds the scar. We talk about family loyalty.
I was still wrestling my head out of the fabric when there was a gasp of horror, a muffled “Mon Dieu.”I froze. Françoise had seen my back and the crescent-shaped scar that stretched from one side of my lower rib cage to the other, along with the star that rested between my shoulder blades.b. Chapter 2
Henry Percy (aka 'Hal' in this story) was the 9th Earl of Northumberland |
* (40:34) – The preparation to meet the Earl:
I asked Françoise a number of questions during the complicated process. Portraits of the period had led me to expect an unwieldy birdcage called a farthingale that would hold my skirts out at the hips, but Françoise explained that these were for more formal occasions. Instead she tied a stuffed cloth form shaped like a doughnut around my waist beneath my skirts. The only positive thing to say about it was that it held the layers of fabric away from my legs, enabling me to walk without too much difficulty—provided there was no furniture in the way and my destination could be reached if I moved in a straight line. But I would be expected to curtsy, too. Françoise quickly taught me how to do so while explaining how Henry Percy’s various titles worked—he was “Lord Northumberland” even though his last name was Percy and he was an earl* (41:00) – Shaving beards to combat ague … looking into this, we couldn't find exact documentation, but it is our assumption that this was an actual way to combat fever (maybe also germs). So instead, we offer you the following: The History of Shaving and Beards
* (42:39) – Diana studies Hal’s habits and observes the old lodge. Jean brings up the historical value of the things she observes; Angela brings up how Catholicism in Matthew’s world remains prominent even amongst Protestant England (and religious tug-of-wars at the time).
* (43:45) – Enter Walter. We talk about what a heartbreaker he was for the time. Angela compares his portrait to Tom Mison, the actor.
A Hilliard of Walter Raleigh on the left, and Tom Mison on the right. What do you think? |
“Henry Percy, you sly imp. Kit told me you were intent on bedding the fair Arabella. If I’d known your tastes ran to something more mature than a girl of fifteen, I would have yoked you to a lusty widow long ago.”Mature? Widow? I had just turned thirty-three.* (45:11) – Hal sets Walter straight.
“Go out, come in again, and ask Matt for his news. And look contrite when you do it.”
Arabella Stuart as painted by Nicholas Hilliard |
* (46:28) – Court life/intrigue.
Henry turned with surprise. “Good day, Walter. Why aren’t you at court?”I tried to swallow a morsel of toast. Our new arrival was almost certainly the missing member of Matthew’s School of Night, Sir Walter Raleigh.“Cast out of paradise for want of a position, Hal. And who is this?” Piercing blue eyes settled on me, and teeth gleamed from his dark beard.* (47:02) – Diana was from Cambridge; she neglects to mention the Massachusetts part.
“I pray you are right, Hal. But enough of my troubles. What part of the country are your people from, Mistress Roydon?”“Cambridge,” I said softly, keeping my response brief and as truthful as possible. The town was in Massachusetts, not England, but if I started making things up now, I’d never keep my stories straight* (47:46) – The assumption that Diana has a dead husband, and a few kids at her age. Walter mentions the waste of a fine specimen on a cold-blooded creature. Jean suggests that this is Tudor version of “I’d hit that…”
* (49:00) – Walter gets the news that Diana is a witch from – KIT.
“At last. Talk sense into him, Walter. Matthew cannot keep playing Odysseus to her Circe.” Kit grabbed the goblet sitting in front of Henry. “Good day, Hal.”“Talk sense into whom?” Walter asked testily.“Matt, of course. That woman is a witch. And there’s something not quite right about her.” Kit’s eyes narrowed. “She’s hiding something.”* (50:30) – They move to the parlor. Valerie notes the art. Jean mentions leaders being displayed on the walls of a private residence.
* (51:55) – The truth.
“Are you still going to tell them the truth?” I whispered to him.“It is generally easier that way, mistress,” Raleigh said sharply, “not to mention more fitting among friends.”* (52:35) – But to marry a witch . . .
“But to wed her—whatever were you thinking?” Walter asked numbly.“That I loved her,” Matthew said.* (53:10) – Kit’s eyes at Matthew’s declaration of love for Diana (we’ll use the Mark Cuban .gif that Angela mentioned).
This is often Angela's reaction to various daily absurdities 😂 |
“We will need to devise a story to explain how your wife came to be here,” Walter said thoughtfully, “something to divert attention from her strangeness.”“Diana needs a teacher, too,” added Matthew.“She must be taught some manners, certainly,” Kit grumbled. “No, her teacher must be another witch,” Matthew corrected him.* (54:30) – How Matthew interacts with his counterparts in the School of Night. Jean compares them to his actual family. We discuss family of choice vs. family of blood.
At Matthew’s response the room fell silent while he and Walter studied each other. With Kit, Matthew was indulgent and a bit exasperated. George and Tom brought out his patience and Henry his brotherly affection. But Raleigh was Matthew’s equal—in intelligence, power, perhaps even in ruthlessness—which meant that Walter’s was the only opinion that mattered. They had a wary respect for each other, like two wolves determining who had the strength to lead their pack.* (55:57) – They talk about why they are there, and Diana’s lack of magical education
“Diana’s father was a scholar,” Matthew replied for me. There were murmurs of interest, quelled by Walter’s upraised hand. “Her mother, too. Both were witches and died under mysterious circumstances.” “That is something we share, then, D-D-Diana,” Henry said with a shudder. Before I could ask the earl what he meant, Walter waved Matthew on.“As a result her education as a witch was . . . overlooked,” Matthew continued.* (56:26) – Wearh - although, the term “wearh” cannot be directly translated into “vampire,” it is an Old English term that has been used to describe vampires. A wearh is a monster or evil spirit. Many authors still use the term when writing about vampires and Anglo-Saxons between England and Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. *Source - Vampire Underworld
* (56:42) – Witches and wearhs cannot marry.
“Because witches and wearhs are forbidden to marry,” Kit said promptly. I’d never heard the word wearh before, with its whistling w at the beginning and guttural sound at the end.“So are daemons and wearhs.” Walter clamped a warning hand on Kit’s shoulder.“Really?” George blinked at Matthew, then at me. “Does the queen forbid such a match?”“It is an ancient covenant between creatures that none dares to disobey.” Tom sounded frightened. “Those who do so are called to account by the Congregation and punished.”
Janus |
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (/ˈdʒeɪnəs/; Latin: Iānus, pronounced [ˈjaː.nus]) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways,[1] passages, and endings. See more . . .
* (58:40) – Matthew’s ideas through other people. Matthew as a vampire cannot claim his thoughts in history.
Walter surveyed Marlowe from head to toe—“everything in you and on you—from your ideas to your last cup of wine to the hat on your head—is thanks to Matthew Roydon’s good graces. Providing a safe port for his wife during this present tempest is a trifle in comparison.”* (59:50) – Kit doesn’t think she shouldn’t leave the house due to her odd speech. George offers to provide elocution lessons.
“Go out of the house?” Kit scoffed. “Utter lunacy.”“Kit is right,” George said apologetically. He made a notation in his book. “Your speech makes it apparent you are a stranger to England. I would be happy to give you elocution lessons, Mistress Roydon.” The idea of George Chapman playing Henry Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle was enough to make me look longingly at the exit.* (1:00:50) – Is there anything they wouldn’t do for you, Matthew?
I’d seen Matthew manage the readers at the Bodleian, but his influence over the likes of Walter Raleigh and Kit Marlowe was still unexpected. “Is there anything they wouldn’t do for you, Matthew?“Pray God we never find out,” he said somberly.* (1:01:15) – Chapter discussion ends with this version of the verse:
“‘Black is the badge of hell / The hue of dungeons, and the school of night.’”* (1:01:37) Housekeeping: Thanks Lauren & Shelli (we clarify the term DILF, and revist the term schmexy). Thanks SunshineVince for your awesome 5-star review!
* (1:05:25) Save It For the Show … Topic: Our thoughts on the TV images from A Discovery of Witches TV so far. We are of a wait and see mindset. The TV show is different from the books. We are getting different points of views from all of the characters!
Teresa Palmer wrapped up in spider webs (shared by Teresa Palmer on Instagram) |
* (1:11:57) – Last thoughts/things we can't let go of: Jean is tired of the never-dying question “why can’t Diana live forever?”. Valerie alerts listeners: Deb has an imposter on the internet. Proceed with caution. Here are Deb’s actual links:
- Deb's author website
- Deb's Twitter account
- Deb's author Facebook account
- Deb's Instagram account
- Deb's Pinterest account
- Deb's Tumblr account
*NOTE: Please keep in mind that this group is just a supplement to our podcast. If you aren't listening to us merely because you enjoy the podcast, but have decided to listen just to get in, you will not be granted entry. The screening process has been intensified to keep membership intimate, and to try to keep out folks who don’t have the best intentions for the group and its dynamic. It's an imperfect process, but we are determined to keep it a healthy place for speculation and more detailed discussion for all members, including us. When we opened the group, we decided to require listener-only membership because podcasting is a very personal medium. People who listen tend to know how we are and think. Those who like what we have to say (and don't find us too abrasive/foul-mouthed/opinionated 😈), will most likely enjoy the group to its fullest, and utilize it as a sounding board with other like-minded members who have the ability to peacefully discuss divergent or opposing ideas. We don't have time to worry about mal-intent, because it breeds drama and discourse. If we're not comfortable, then the rest of the members won't be comfortable. None of this is negotiable. It's simply how it is. This is why the Facebook group is not public and we don't advertise it on Deb's website, social media, or other venues.
Note the picture on the left of this collage; it's fan-art from 2013. |
Here are more of the original artist's fan-art from back then. Visit Vanessa's DeviantArt gallery or her Pinterest Board |
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* Our episode titles are a loving tribute to the show "Friends" just 'cause we love Friends and - let's face it - it's easier! Here's how one of the show creators explains their reasoning:
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