A Plague On Both Your Houses: The First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (Chronicles of Matthew Bartholomew)

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Plague struck again in 1593 and all places of entertainment in London were closed, putting Shakespeare's successful run as both an actor and playwright on temporary hold. The epidemic affected the course of history and was a terrifying presence at the end of World War I, killing more Americans in a single year than died in battle in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. For now, however, Richard Lesh deserves the spotlight for pointing out the first folio's use of "a pox.

Bartholomew’s unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. It was offensive, too, in Shakespeare’s time, to wish the plague on someone and while “a plague on both your houses” later became an English idiom, Mercutio meant it: it shows how much he resented having to forfeit his life in the interests of a meaningless feud. When plague struck yet again in 1606, Shakespeare and his company toured the English countryside, during which time he wrote Macbeth, Anthony and Cleopatra and a revised version of King Lear, which is now the definitive version. Aside from Bartholomew, none of the characters are fleshed out well and it is difficult to become attached to any of them. John Wilkes famously responded to an insult in Parliament to the effect that he would die either "of the pox or on the gallows" by saying "That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.It gave a good pretext for an introductory story about a physician, but I felt like the main mystery/plot as well as the general action and time frame of the book could have centered more on the plague. It is spoken by Mercutio who, despite being Romeo's best friend, has avoided taking a side in the ancient feud between the two families, and has remained good-natured and optimistic.

This was frustrating as these skirmishes take up the first quarter (at least) of the book and I still have no idea what they were about. They have frittered away our future with their inability to control their desire to spend other people’s money. Bartholomew could feel the student’s disapproval as he entered the single-roomed shacks that were home to families of a dozen.Religion and faith/s of every kind take the long view: they hope for an end and final validation of their spiritual quest. Coriolanus] the hoarded plague o' the gods requite your love [same] a plague consume you [ Timon of Athens] all the plagues . Editor Stephen Jones liked it so much that it ended up being published in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, his 1997 collection of the best horror of 1996, and the piece was also nominated for a Stoker Award. But there is little doubt La Peste – like all of Camus’s writing – addresses issues of ultimate, ‘existential’, concern.