The Posthumous Autobiography of Sir Jasper Murgatroyd
(2022)(A book in the Posthumous Autobiography of Sir Jasper Murgatroyd series)
A novel by Phyllis Ann Karr
This carefully researched historical novel of early Stuart England starts by taking Gilbert and Sullivan’s ghost opera ‘Ruddigore’ semi-seriously, and tells the story of the third Cursed Baronet, Sir Jasper, a lusty Cavalier villain-hero almost larger than the life he loves, whose career includes helping Dr. William Harvey discover the circulation of blood, gleefully orchestrating his own torture in the Tower of London as part of a plot to rescue a Catholic priest, having to murder the wife he dearly worships, and surviving his own hanging. Compelled after death to write down all his sins, he produces thousands of pages for his collateral descendant Despard to boil down into a coherent narrative, heavily footnoted by Despard’s wife Margaret: two characters drawn directly from Gilbert’s opera. Conceived – supposed ‘abridgement,’ footnotes, and all – in late 1968 or early 1969, Sir Jasper’s epic was brought to its conclusion only on the eve of the Covid pandemic.
This edition also includes six related pieces of shorter fiction.
Genre: Historical
This edition also includes six related pieces of shorter fiction.
Genre: Historical
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