An Antic Disposition

Fools' Guild #5

by Alan Gordon

In 1204 A.D., the Fools' Guild is on the run from an enraged Pope Innocent III and the Papal troops he's dispatched to destroy them. Now, hidden in their secret enclave deep within the Black Forest, the fools, troubadours and novitiates, including the jester couple Theophilos and Claudia, come together for their evening gathering to hear Father Gerald, their ancient leader, tell one of the greatest stories from the history of the Guild.

It begins in Denmark, during a time of civil war when three men laid claim to the throne while a fourth watched and bided his time. Into the strategically crucial town of Slesvig, the Guild sends Terence of York, who is promptly dubbed Yorick by the Duke's young son, Amleth. What unfolds is a tale of treachery, tragedy and bloodshed that is the true story behind one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. But Father Gerald's history contains secrets never known to anyone outside the Guild, and as he recounts it, Theophilos feels a chill steal over his heart.

For not even Father Gerald knows the ending of this story. But Theophilos does.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Medieval

337 pages, Hardcover

First published January 20, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Alan Gordon is the author of the Fools' Guild mysteries. His short fiction and essays have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, The Drood Review of Mystery and the Medieval Academy Newsletter. He lives in New York City with his wife, Judy Downer, and son, Robert. By day, he is a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society.

Series:
* Fools' Guild

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We could use a Fool's Guide in the 21st century.

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Jesters Guild mystery series, this actually has little to do with our hero Feste/Theophilous. It's a retelling of the story of Hamlet from a historical perspective, and quite nicely done.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful retelling of Hamlet

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sad book in many ways, as it is a retelling of a classic, well-known tragedy. Its interesting in the sense of historical events and a focus on Denmark in the late 12th century, and there are plenty of foolish goings on to add humor, but things go very badly for a lot of people.

As usual the writing is good and the dialog is crisp, and the story moves along well, although necessarily by the events of the tale, there is a bit where things bog somewhat in the middle. The fun part is when you as the reader figure out what story he's telling, because the names are more authentically Danish and some details are slightly different.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth in the Fool's Guild Mystery series. I admit I love this series. This particular installment is a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet from the view of the Fool's Guild. Gordon manages to beautifully weave the play into the mythos of his Fool's Guild characters. This historical fiction mystery made me want to read Hamlet again. Fans of this series, of which I am one, will enjoy this installment.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was rather surprised at how pleased I ended up with this book; the history was clean and clear, and the parallels with Hamlet were quite good. A decent mystery book, since the mystery didn't matter as much as the characterizations. The true proof of my satisfaction is that I just went out and got two other books by him; let's see if it's consistent.

[Erik Deckers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept thinking this would be a retelling of Hamlet, with an “And that’s how William Shakespeare stole the story of Hamlet.” I was surprised to learn it was a real story. Still, it was a good one and I loved the surprise at the end.

[Alison C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fools’ Guild is holed up in hiding because a king is after them, but they must continue to train and to entertain each other during this semi-exile. Father Gerald takes on a tale-telling role, involving events in Denmark in the 1160s and 1170s, some 30 years earlier. While the tale is new to many, Theophilus knows it only too well and he takes issue with some of Gerald’s flourishes…. “An Antic Disposition” is the fifth (of eight) medieval mysteries penned by Alan Gordon; the premise is that fools, far from being simple entertainers in royal courts, are in fact spies and diplomats whose clandestine mission is to prevent (or at least limit) war as much as possible. I had read the series from the beginning (the first book came out in 1999) but had been unable to find this entry even though I’ve been looking for it for two decades. Luckily my husband found a copy and I was finally able to delve into this interesting take on “Hamlet,” along with learning more about Theophilus (our narrator in most of the books). I still need to find the last book in the series, “The Parisian Prodigal,” but hopefully that won’t take me another 20 years! This is an excellent take on medieval life, well worth reading if you are interested in that historical period, but start with the first (“Thirteenth Night”) because this is a series that develops throughout and you won’t want to miss anything! Highly recommended.

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I always rave about this series, (who knew I would fall in love with a crime solving jester based on a character in a Shakespeare play?) but friends let me tell you, Theophilos barely appears in this story (it's narrated by Father Gerald) and it is the best so far.

The storytelling is excellent with real emotion, depth and pathos. It was crafted so well that I was kept on the edge of my seat and I stayed up much later than I should have done to finish it. The final chapters of the book left me reeling and impressed. I loved Amleth and how each of the characters were fully rounded - you understood why they were doing the things they did. It all fell into place wonderfully. On top of this, you got the ambience and feel of historic Paris and Denmark, and what it might be like to be cooped up in a fortress town. It was very immersive.

I discovered, on finishing, that this is a retelling of Hamlet as seen through the eyes of the Fool's Guild, a collection of jesters who work around those in power trying to keep peace and minimise bloodshed.

I'm looking forward to the next one but really dreading coming to the end of this wonderful series.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of Hamlet. It made me go back and check what happened in the play as it was close enough to make me have to know where it differed and the characters names were slightly different as well. I really enjoyed this version and it had a more satisfying ending.
I am already looking for more books in this series.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once my “aha” moment came with correlating characters’ names to Shakespeare’s names in “Hamlet,” this became an even more ingenious retelling of the famous tragedy. So many names and allegiances confused me at first, but soon enough, I found character development to be the strength of this novel. Fascinating to follow Hamlet from age 2 to young adulthood.

[Red Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series takes a very painful and very lovely turn back to Shakespeare by bringing us into the Danish history that informed the Bard’s Hamlet - along with glimpses of several familiar characters in their youths. No one who knows the play would expect this to be an easy read, but it is a very beautiful one.

[Pamela Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't happy with how sad and violent An Antic Disposition (part of Alan Garner's Fools' Guild series) was in the middle, but I loved the ending!

Great new look at a classic story through the lens of Feste's experience.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex and well told story.
Best of the series, so far.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

[Kanea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so good, it has alot of heart, ups and downs and the characters are well handled! Love this series!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this one at the library thinking it looked cool. I had no clue it was apart of a series, let alone the 5th one! So, I'm not gonna beat around the bush I'll go ahead and say it--this book was magic! It had all the elements that put together an epic story. Love, friendship, drama, tragedy, comedy--I loved it.

I was really disappointed that Yorick was a one time character. He was soooo awesome...Actually, I like him much better than Theophilos!

Anyways. Even though this book is simply Theophilos' past and smack dab in the middle of the series, I'm very happy that I started with this book. It gave me a wonderful foundation to begin with, plus I loved the characters. The plot was another type of drama that is very different than the rest of the Fools' Guild installments. I think its what makes it unique compared to the rest (and my favorite).

I highly recommend this book for everyone.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent excellent excellent! I know I've said that about every book in this series, but this one is possibly my favorite yet. It took me a little longer to get into than the others, since it doesn't feature Theophilos for most of the story, but it turned out being at least as wonderful as the previous ones in the series, and certainly more unpredictable. A book where you can't guess at least some of what is going to happen is rare, and this was one of them. I would think I knew what was going to happen, and then the opposite happened instead. A little longer than some of the other Fools' Guild books (or so it seems), but definitely worth the read.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purported to be the true story of Hamlet, found in the archives of the Fools' Guild, this book is a delightful read. Funny in places, sad in others, it has all the anger, madness and political espionage of Shakespeare's version, without the same need for interpretation from an older form of English. It spurs me to re-read Shakespeare for comparison, since his version may have been taken from the viewpoint of another historian altogether. This series is truly unique and very entertaining--as any Fool should be.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series, but still very good.

Much like Thirteenth Night I feel like I am in part enjoying it despite the overlap with Shakespeare rather than because of it, but Gordon manages to give the history enough fidelity that it comes off more strongly as another story based on the same source rather than anything else. More tragic than the other books, even counting certain parts of The Widow of Jerusalem, it is nevertheless engaging and often humorous.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fifth entry in Gordon's medieval fool series isn't really a mystery. Instead it is an alternate view of Hamlet (Amleth), set in 1157-1177 AD Denmark. Well-written, with just the right amount of similarity to and difference from Shakespeare. Denmark is in the process of becoming a united kingdom but still has areas where the majority of the population is not Christian, so it is an interesting setting.

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a couple years ago, and didn't realize it until I checked it out from the library - again! It was a very interesting retelling of the Hamlet story and I really enjoy Gordon's series about the Fools' Guild, and Theophilos and Claudia are great characters. I've got the next one, "The Lark's Lament" out from the library and I'll get to it soon!

[Stephanie]

I really enjoyed Pinesport Divide by this new author Charles Matthews. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a YA book that is fast paced and full of surprises. There is a little science fiction to it, but don't let that scare you away. The story focuses more on the relationships between the main characters, while still offering plenty of action. Can't wait until the next book comes out!

[Carolyn Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the members of the Fools Guild acting as secret agents to try to bring peace to the world. Yorick's dialogue was delightful and in places I laughed out loud. The narrative and recapping at the end went on a little too long for my taste, but I was tired and up past my bedtime finishing, so that could have influenced my opinion.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful retelling of Hamlet, and yes, the teaser "You only think you know this story" is very apt. Ambitious, but well-done take on a classic with interesting point of view shifts. Kudos for the guts to tackle this - and to succeed.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I happened to have just been in a play inspired by Shakespeare the day before I found this book. I would give it 4.5 stars for the slightly clumsy start. But I would give 5 stars for most of the book and for the amazing ideas about what it means to be a "fool."

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different subject as it involves mysteries solved by a member of the ancient guild of fools. The book was a little slow starting for me, but once I got a little way into it, I found it interesting and educational about an association in history I knew next to nothing about.

[Ambika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the different perspective on the Hamlet story. A lot of the book is told in flashback/story-within-a-story format I would really have liked to have read more about the character's present time.

[Theresa]

About half way through and enjoying it. A re-telling of the Hamlet story.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have this one as well! Even if it's so very sad. If you enjoy Hamlet, you MUST, MUST, MUST read this book!