No Strain To Savor The Quality

Quality of Mercy by Faye Kellerman

Reading books such as Quality of Mercy make me glad that history has left certain mysteries unsolved. Centuries of creative speculation have created some incredibly enjoyable literary works both on paper and the screen.

Many of history's mysteries revolve around the foremost playwright of the English language-William Shakespeare. Scholars have speculated for ages about who the dark lady of his sonnets were. They have also debated on whom he based his play The Merchant of Venice, for while today we often consider that play anti-Semitic, he portrayed a Jew with redeemable qualities during a period where Jews were universally hated and persecuted. There were Englishmen who would have scarce believed that they shared the same human form as a Jew or that a Jew could be anything more than the basest of criminals.

Faye Kellerman serves up a rendition of these mysteries by tying in another one from the time. Dr. Roderigo Lopez, personal physician to Queen Elizabeth was accused of treason by his enemy Essex. One of the damning pieces of evidence was a letter that referred to pearls, musk, and amber. His accusers claimed that they referred to poison, arms, and ships. Kellerman comes up with a more compassionate and intriguing explanation.

Kellerman's novel is an intricate one that features William Shakespeare and a young Jewish girl named Rebecca Lopez. Guest appearances are made by Queen Elizabeth, Dr. Roderigo Lopez, Manuel de Andrada, Don Antonio, Burbage, and members of the Portuguese royalty and church hierarchy.

Departing From Her Series

Faye Kellerman has made her fortune with her Rina Lazarus-Peter Decker mystery series. In those mystery novels, she explores the life of an orthodox Jew and how she fits into modern society. In that sense, Quality of Mercy is not much of a departure. However, she has created very different characters as well as changed the setting and the year. The novel opens in Lisbon in 1540 and then quickly switches to London of 1593.

Kellerman retains her suspenseful storytelling voice. She redraws a world we think we know to let us see layers previously unsuspected. To get her story, she mixes religion, mystery, sex, persecution, and a love that is both passionate and enduring.

Plight of the Jews

At no point in this novel can the plight of Elizabethan Jews be ignored. Indeed, it might be said that the entire purpose of the novel is to paint a vivid picture of the life Jews led in the sixteenth century.

The novel opens with a graphic scene from the Portuguese inquisition. We see the cruelty of the Grand Inquisitor and the bloodthirstiness of the crowds. Kellerman does not spare her readers the slightest grisly detail and if your passions are not aroused by the end of the first chapter, it might be better to put the book down and pick another one.

As a Christian, I found it a difficult book to read, for there is no denying the hatred and hypocrisy of the Christians portrayed in this book. It is little comfort that they are merely poor representatives of the faith, for there is much historical accuracy in Kellerman's account. But closing my eyes does not eliminate the past and seeing the bitter fruits of hatred can help ward it off in the future.

The novel then moves to London where we meet Rebecca and her family. They are conversos--Jews who have publicly converted to a Christian religion. In secret, they pass along their traditions and practice their rituals. They keep kosher even though refraining from eating pork is considered a crime. We discover that her family is engaged in what they refer to as "the mission"-smuggling Jews out of Portugal and to safer countries. This smuggling is made more difficult by the fact that England is enemy to some of the countries wherein lie the safe havens. This is the explanation that Kellerman gives for the damning letter brought in evidence against Lopez. Pearls, musk, and amber are code words for Jewish men, women, and children.

Historical Framework

If you have an interest in the Elizabethan period, this novel is filled with rich treats for you. Kellerman portrays royalty and courtly intrigue with a detailed pen. If you're a fan of Queen Elizabeth, you may find her characterization of the queen a little difficult to swallow. She is certainly not portrayed favorably, though there are some exciting scenes of tight dialog with her.

Kellerman also explores the persecution of Catholics in England. Indeed, religious intolerance seems the credo of the day as anyone disagreeing with the current rulers face horridly fatal fates.

In a lighter mode, we also get to enter the Unicorn theater and meet the players and producers of London's greatest theater. We get to stand down front with Rebecca as she watches the plays and then see Shakespeare as he struggles with his "books" and paid poetry writing. Shakespeare also recounts how he was first sponsored into the theater as he searches for the murderer of his mentor Harry.

Love and Laughter

So far, I'm afraid I've made the book sound completely dark and foreboding. But it is not so heavy as that. There is throughout the novel a great sense of playfulness and devoted love. Kellerman explores many aspects of love:

* The love of a grandmother for Rebecca
* Love between brothers
* The forced love in an arranged marriage
* The love of a people for their heritage and their God
* The love between two lovers whose love must be always denied

Nor does Kellerman shy away from the "unmentionables." There is plenty of sex in this book-between cousins, between men, between women, and between lovers. There is even a despicable scene where a father sells his 13-year-old daughter to be used by a snake of a man.

Why Would I Recommend Quality of Mercy To Someone?

First, Kellerman makes brilliant speculation on some of history's mysteries. She does so passionately with characters that you'll both love and hate. This book made me laugh and it made me cry. The book is filled with adventure as Rebecca and Will Shakespeare travel the countryside to solve a murder and further her family's mission. There are suspenseful moments worthy of any thriller as Shakespeare is captured by a mob-like gangster and threatened. It is heart-wrenching to watch as Rebecca and her family desperately try to save Dr. Lopez from the accusations of treason and the machinations of their enemies.

Publisher's Weekly called it "A spectacular epic-romantic, bawdy, witty and abounding with adventure.Brilliantly original and breathtaking in its scope." I second that assessment. Kellerman tells a great story and I was immensely moved by it.

--B. Redman