Shakespeare References in Death, Bones, And Stately Homes

Death, Bones, And Stately Homes, a mystery written by Valerie S. Malmont, contains a couple of Shakespeare references. The first is to Romeo And Juliet, with Malmont writing: “That left me free to write my feature article about the tragic story of Rodney and Emily. I was determined not to make it the Lickin Creek version of Romeo and Juliet, because Romeo, as I remembered, was not perverted but only horny” (p. 142). The other is to King Lear. One of the characters says to Tori: “I wouldn’t have let you go to jail alone, Tori. I’d have ‘fessed up if it had come to that. ‘I’ll kneel down and ask of thee forgiveness: and we’ll live, and pray, and sing, and tell old tales and laugh at gilded butterflies…’ Am I forgiven?” (pages 203-204). The friend there is quoting King Lear’s lines to Cordelia as they are about to taken away to prison. Malmont has Tori respond: “Of course. I’ll always ‘laugh at gilded butterflies’ with you” (p. 204). Malmont continues: “Who wouldn’t forgive a best friend who could apologize with a quotation from King Lear? Alice-Ann had been an English literature major in college where we first met, and her ability to dredge something appropriate up from her memory for every occasion was truly amazing. The only reason I knew this particular quotation was from King Lear was because she’d used it on me several times before” (p. 204).

Death, Bones, And Stately Homes was published in 2003. The copy I read was the Worldwide Mystery edition from May 2005.