Shylock Must Die (Paperback)

Clive Sinclair

ISBN 10: 1905559941 / ISBN 13: 9781905559947

Published by Peter Halban Publishers Ltd, London, 2018

About this Item

Paperback. Since his first public appearance in the late 1590s, Shylock has been synonymous with antisemitism. Many of his bon mots remain common currency among Jew-haters; among them "3000 ducats" and the immortal "pound of flesh". But Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, was incapable of inventing anyone so uninteresting; instead he affords Shylock such ambiguity that some of his other lines have become keynotes for believers in shared humanity and tolerance. Following Shakespeare's example these stories - all inspired by The Merchant of Venice - range from the comic to the melancholic. Many pivot on significant productions of the play: Stockholm in 1944, London in 2012, and Venice in 2016. Some are concerned with domestic matters, others with the political, including one - more outrageous than the others - that links Shylock via Israel with the American presidency; most combine both. Running through these linked stories - of which there are seven, like the ages of man - is the cycle of family life, with all its comedy and tragedy. New collection of stories inspired by The Merchant of Venice. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781905559947

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shylock Must Die (Paperback)
• Publisher: Peter Halban Publishers Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1905559941
• ISBN 13: 9781905559947
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Since his first public appearance in the late 1590s, Shylock has been synonymous with antisemitism. Many of his bon mots remain common currency among Jew-haters; among them "3000 ducats" and the immortal "pound of flesh". But Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, was incapable of inventing anyone so uninteresting; instead he affords Shylock such ambiguity that some of his other lines have become keynotes for believers in shared humanity and tolerance.

Following Shakespeare's example these stories - all inspired by The Merchant ofVenice - range from the comic to the melancholic. Many pivot on significant productions of the play: Stockholm in 1944, London in 2012, and Venice in 2016. Some are concerned with domestic matters, others with the political, including one - more outrageous than the others - that links Shylock via Israel with the American presidency; most combine both.

Running through these linked stories - of which there are seven, like the ages of man - is the cycle of family life, with all its comedy and tragedy.

About the Author

Clive Sinclair's first novel was published in 1973, his first collection of stories in 1979. Since then his books have won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Jewish Quarterly Prize for Fiction, and the PEN Silver Pen. He was in Granta's first list of Best of Young British Novelists. He lives in London with his partner - the painter, Haidee Becker - and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.