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The Trial Of Elizabeth Cree, Or Dan Leno And The Limehouse Golem (1995)

The Trial of Elizabeth Cree, or Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem (1995)

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3.74 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0385477074 (ISBN13: 9780385477079)
Language
English
Publisher
nan a. talese

About book The Trial Of Elizabeth Cree, Or Dan Leno And The Limehouse Golem (1995)

«دلقك و هيولا» يا آنگونه كه اسم اصلي‌اش است «دان لنو و گلم لايم‌هاوس» اولين رماني است كه از پيتر اكرويد نويسنده مشهور و پركار انگليسي به فارسي ترجمه شده است. پيتر اكرويد متولد 1949، رمان‌نويس مشهور انگليسي است كه در حوزه‌هاي شعر، نمايشنامه و زندگينامه‌نويسي فعاليت داشته و شهرتي براي خودش به هم زده است. منتقدان ادبي، رمان‌هاي پيتر اكرويد را بيشتر رمان‌هايي پست‌مدرن مي‌دانند؛ هر چند خود اكرويد چندان اعتقادي به اين موضوع ندارد، آنچنان كه چندان اعتقادي به گونه‌هاي ادبي متفاوت ندارد. خواننده رمان‌هاي پيتر اكرويد بايد كتاب‌هاي زندگينامه‌اي، انوع فرهنگ جغرافيايي و دانشنامه نويسندگان و شعرا را در كنار خود داشته باشد مبادا، پيتر اكرويد در ميان صفحه‌هاي اين كتاب اطلاعاتي تحريف شده به خوردش داده باشند. هر چند به اعتراف خود اكرويد، وي چندان پايبند به واقيت‌هاي تاريخي نيست و جابه‌جا آنها را قلب مي‌كند. گو اينكه در همين رمان خاص يعني دلقك و هيولا چندان نمي‌توان به اطلاعاتي كه او از شخصيت‌هاي تاريخي و ادبي و فلسفي مي‌دهد همانند كساني مثل «كارل ماركس» يا «چارلز ببيج» (مخترع كامپيوتر اوليه) اعتماد كرد. تم اصلي رمان «دلقك و هيولا»، جنايت است يا بهتر است بگوييم زيبايي‌شناسي جنايت؛ گو اينكه «دلقك و هيولا» به طور كلي عرصه ادبيات است و شخصيت‌هايش عموما شناخته‌شدگان بزرگ ادبي بوده و براي ما آشنا هستند. كساني مثل «كارل ماركس» مظنون به قتل زنجيره‌اي، كه موضوع اين رمان است، مي‌شود و «اسكار وايلد» و «ماركس» و «گيسينگ» و «دان لنو» زير يك سقف، در يك كتابخانه، مطالعه مي‌كنند و همه آنها را در يك سالن تئاتر مي‌بينيم كه به تماشاي يك نمايش نشسته‌اند. دختر «كارل ماركس» كمدين مي‌شود و...به قول مترجمش، سعيد سبزيان، كه شرح مفصلي از زندگي و آثار پيتر اكرويد را در انتهاي كتاب دلقك و هيولا آورده، رمان دلقك و هيولا ساختاري در هم تنيده دارد و در شكل داستاني به معنا و مفهوم «بينامتنيت» مي‌پردازد. اين بينامتنيت از همان ابتداي كتاب، يعني نام كتاب، آغاز مي‌شود، چرا كه به نام «جان لنو» كمدين مشهور انگليسي قرن نوزدهم اشاره مي‌كند. شخصيت اصلي رمان هم «اليزابت كري» است كه در كودكي ليزي ناميده مي‌شده و در «لمبث» بزرگ شده است، اين اطلاعات رمان «ليزا اهل لمبث» نوشته «سامرست موام» را به ذهن تداعي مي‌كند. بين اين دو رمان بينامتنيتي عميق برقرار مي‌كند. قهرمان هر دو اين رمان‌ها شبيه هم هستند. هر دو اين شخصيت‌ها از تئاتر تاثير گرفته‌اند و جامعه آنها را تباه كرده و هر دو گرفتار مادري هستند كه از آنها سوءاستفاده مي‌كند و پايان هر دوي اين شخصيت‌‌ها هم مرگ است. پيتر اكرويد رمانش را به رمان «سامرست موام» پيوند داده و از پيرنگ آن استفاده شايسته‌اي كرده است. بخش زيادي از رمان دلقك و هيولا به قلم يك قاتل شيطاني نوشته شده است. اين بخش كتاب داراي صحنه‌هاي تكان‌‌دهنده‌اي از قتل و جنايت است كه شخصا كمتر با آن مواجه شده‌ام. اين قسمت‌هاي كتاب را بايد داراي رابطه بينامتني با داستان‌هاي پليسي و ترسناك و جنايي دانست. «صبح زيبا و درخشاني بود. بوي قتل به مشامم مي‌رسيد. بايد آتش اين اشتياق را در خود فرو نشانم و... بايد بگويم اشتياقش وادارم مي‌كرد دست به كار شوم، زيرا فكر تازه‌اي به ذهنم آمده بود: نفس كودكي را بمكم كه دارد جان مي‌دهد...» (ص 32)رمان دلقك و هيولا با اعدام اليزابت در هواي مه‌آلود لندن، كه آدم را ياد داستان‌هاي «شرلوك هولمز» و «ديكنز» مي‌اندازد، آغاز مي‌شود. اتهام اليزابت، كه در كتاب بخش‌هاي مربوط به دادگاه و اعتراف‌گيري از او را مي‌خوانيم، قتل شوهرش است. اما آيا واقعا او قاتل شوهرش است؟ رابطه او با قاتل زنجيره‌اي چيست؟ رابطه «كارل ماركس» و «گيسينگ» با اين جنايت‌ها و اليزابت چيست؟ در اين رمان مي‌خوانيم كه «جورج گيسينگ» مقاله‌اي نوشته و منتشر كرده است و در آن مقاله مجعول قتل را به مكتب ادبي و هنري رمانتيسيسم ربط داده است. هرچند در تاريخ ادبيات هيچ‌جا نشانه‌اي از اين مقاله كه «جورج گيسينگ» آن را نوشته وجود ندارد. با اين حال رمان سرزمين تخيل‌هاست و پيتر اكرويد آنچنان كه خودش معترف است «چندان به حقيقت‌ها پايبند نيست.» ما دائما خودمان را در شكل افرادي ابداع مي‌كنيم اما چيز مقدسي در اين به اصطلاح «حقيقت‌ها و واقعيت‌ها» وجود ندارد. پيتر اكرويد تا جايي كه مي‌تواند همه چيز را «نوآفريني و دستكاري» مي‌كند. قتل در اين مقاله، كه ذكرش در بالا آمد و در رمان هم موجود است، درست يا غلط، داراي «باشكوه‌ترين احساس زيباشناسانه» براي قاتل توصيف شده است. رمان پيتر اكرويد با اين موضوع و مقاله از چند بعد پيوند بينامتني برقرار كرده است: هر دو به قتل‌هاي زنجيره‌اي و آدمكشي‌هايي مي‌پردازند كه آگاهانه قرباني‌شان را تصنيف مي‌كنند. هر دو اثر از زبان قاتل‌ها و با زبان هنرشناسانه روايت مي‌شوند و...پيتر اكرويد در نوشته‌هايش خوانندگان را به خلق و بازآفريني دنيايي وامي‌دارد؛ آنها را به درونش فرامي‌خواند و دنياهاشان را بازسازي مي‌كند. . .

Scrumptious! One of the best treatments that I have ever read of the fearful magic involved in acting and overall the theatrical life. - To act is to embody other creatures; one's whole life becomes a 'monypolylogue'. Elizabeth's life in the music halls with Dan Leno were vividly described and I loved all the bits of the old turns we got to read. Also, the Golem theme was fun - technology and abstract thought in general are envisioned as a kind of Golem feeding on the human souls of the city. Despite many other reviews here, I would hardly call this a mystery. The only mystery-like part of it was the twist, which was rather rushed and sloppy. The treatment of murder was excellent though, with a lot of attention paid to how the city pretends to condone killers, while secretly delighting in their gruesome acts. The De Quincy inspired reflections on how a murderer's style reflects the culture of his/her time were a nice touch too.As far as the cameos - I don't know. The only one I already knew well was Marx, and I thought Ackroyd's portrayal of him was terrible. His presence lended a little oomph to the Golem ideas I mentioned above, but otherwise he was out of place and to my eyes, not very believable. And it was just tacky the way he stuck in the famous quote - "Die Philosophen haben die Welt nur verschieden interpretiert." ie the first half of the famous line, "Philosophers have only variously interpreted the world, the point is to change it." First off, the German was wrong (inexplicably to me at least interpretier' rather than interpretiert). Second, the context made no sense for the quote. The policemen are asking him to help them solve the crime, he throws that line at them as a way to say he can't help them interpret the facts like they want him too, then goes on to philosophize airily about the nature of crime. Quite the opposite would be implied by the quote, he should offer up those interpretations necessary to help them solve the case, and thereby change the world, not his empty speculation. A quibble, sure, but it makes me worry that his representations of the other characters were equally careless and annoying were I only more informed. But perhaps Ackroyd does better with the English. In any case, I am happy to have learned about Dan Leno, Gissing's story with his wife was kiiiinda interesting (though I think it could have been a lot meatier as regards why he was so drawn to her, Ackroyd definitely could have pulled that off), and Weil's presence was necessary to introduce the Golem theme, so whatev. I'm okay with it. The real star though was Elizabeth Cree and she was wonderfully drawn, perfectly melodramatic (in a good way).So after struggling through Chatterton and English Music, I finally got what I wanted from Ackroyd: a well-paced book with the rich characters and colorful atmospheres at the forefront, in which the themes provide interest and momentum without getting too preachy or dull.

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Cor Blimey, Guvn'r. Well that was a right old to do. Set in Victorian London on the banks of the good old shake and shiver, the narrow field o' wheat and the bawdy houses and music halls this jackanory will have you all in a lather - oh what a palaver. The great wen is all a-quiver for there is a killer on the street. It's not safe for a respectable ocean pearl like m'self to be out after dark, oh no. The Limehouse Golem is abroad and I'm not talking about the Costa. Murder most horrid is being committed by a shadowy glasgow ranger and it has the denizens of Limehouse in a right two and eight. Bodies disembowled and artfully arranged on the apples and pears are giving people the right good scares. The first victim chosen was a one time looker, often the sad fate of a street walking hooker. Two more follow after that, and three is a spree but what happens when you add an entire family? Lizzie Cree is set to swing, the gallows drop is a sure thing, but are there more twists in her tale than in a hangmans noose? This fish hook is definitely worth a look.
—Shovelmonkey1

A vuelta con los títulos y las traducciones, tengo que decir que, en cierta forma, en este caso el título en español ("Dan Leno, el Golem y el Music Hall") tiene más magia, pero el original da una mejor idea de lo que nos encontramos entre las páginas de este libro.Una buena novela negra de ambientación histórica, en la que el Londres Victoriano se convierte en verdadero protagonista; el autor sabe transmitir la atmósfera de la época al tiempo que nos relata una historia de crímenes con ciertos visos a lo Jack el Destripador en la que nada es lo que parece. Muy buen final; aunque personalmente tengo que decir que lo veía venir, no por ello resulta menos redondo.Al que le cueste un poquito meterse en harina, debido a los continuos cambios de punto de vista y a las digresiones siguiendo a determinados personajes que no parecen tan importantes: que aguante, que merece la pena... y las digresiones a veces sólo son eso, pero para mí enriquecen la historia, aunque sea sólo por que permiten ahondar en la perspectiva histórica. Y sin duda, la época en la que se enmarca esta novela fue de lo más rica en acontecimientos y personajes: realmente interesante.Podría ser, incluso, algo más que un simple cuatro...
—Estibaliz79

Set in London in the 1880s, the novel starts with Elizabeth Cree being hanged for the murder of her husband. Throughout the story, we learn what tragic events led towards the demise of Elizabeth and Mr. Cree. One main piece of evidence is that a journal is found, written by John Cree, saying "It was a fine bright morning and I could feel a murder coming on". We are shown how Elizabeth - or Lizzie of Lambeth Marsh as she was known when she was younger - is dragged up from poverty through fame, to end in riches and a rather unusual home setup. Lizzie spends her formative years performing in the 'halls', being a 'gagger', a 'patterer', improvising and dramatising on the stage in silly costumes, creating characters and living out an existence other than her own. Even though it looks like Lizzie enjoys the fame and the limelight, some very disturbing things go on around her.These accounts of Lizzie finding her footing in the world are interspersed by journal entries from Mr. Cree, who prowls the streets of Limehouse, searching out poverty-stricken or otherwise tragic-seeming victims. He writes that he feels soothed, completely at ease and proud once the murder is done, and wants to leave something they can identify him by, not just a nameless murderer. He gains the name, the Limehouse Golem. So, he will not be forgotten.A lot of the book is focused on the British Museum's Reading Rooms. The author shows us who else is reading in there apart from John Cree: Karl Marx, John Gissing - journalist, Solomon Weil - Jew, Oscar Wilde, and so on. We get little snippets of information and insight into these minor characters' lives, but I was not terribly interested in them, to be honest. However, they do all fit into the theme of the murders in some minor, peculiar way. It did feel a little too much like 'name-dropping'. "Look how many well-known names I can fit into one Victorian novel".Dan Leno, one of the namesakes of the book, is probably the most likeable character in there. He is one of the most famous of the players on the stage, and his characters and songs made the crowds roar and scream with laughter. He remains level-headed and sensible the whole way through, and he seems serious off-stage - possibly someone I might like to be friends with. He was considerate and sensitive when needed. He just didn't star enough for me.By the time I had read three-quarters of the book, I was ready for it to finish. It had dragged on for too long. It read like a weird documentary, chronicling the lives of the people involved. I became bored of the whole thing soon enough, because nothing really happened. It was all retrospective. I struggled to like this book, but I did like it educated intelligence lurking in the background all the way through.
—Jemma

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