Verona in Autumn by Tom Lloyd
I would like to thank SRL Publishing for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - SRL Publishing
Published - Out Now
Price - £19.99 hardback £2.99 Kindle eBook
Romeo and Juliet - one of the most famous tales ever told. But what if their violent delights had not ended in tragedy? What then for the star-crossed lovers, doomed to burn so bright and brief?
When Romeo Montague fails to kill himself at his wife's side, he and Juliet instead go into exile - far from the rage of their families. Twenty years later they return with their grown children to a city still beset by the unending feud between Montagues and Capulets. Their survival has cost Verona dearly and danger stalks them still, but does their love finally hold the key to ending the city's woes?
The big question behind fantasy and science fiction is almost always ‘what if?’ that’s how worlds of magic or advanced science get created but sometimes the changes are subtler. Perhaps a world very much like our own but with a much smaller change that can still have big consequences. In Tom Lloyd’s fascinating and charming Autumn in Verona we get a really interesting tale that supposes what would have happened of Romeo and Juliet had lived?
In medieval Verona the star crossed young lovers Romeo and Juliet had decided to elope and a plan involving Juliet faking her death. This worked and our two teenagers fled Verona and their warring families. Now twenty years have passed and Verona has faced a further decline as the family feuds have continued to lead to death and constant violence. The Duke of Milan though has a plan for restoring order and has found a suitable skilled lawyer with the skills and knowledge to help being about a peace. Romeo, Juliet and their own teenage children Estelle and Mercutio travel in disguise with guards under a young distinguished soldier named Francesco to Verona. Francesco announced he is the new Governor of Verona and then plans to bring peace and reconciliation meet the wall of recent history and other schemes to bring about more chaos and death.
This is a hugely enjoyable tale especially if like me you always thought the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet seemed a little too convenient and rushed. If the original play is about the first rush of true love taking you over then this is the tale of an older and wiser couple facing their families and pasts and trying to bring a better future. This has a touch more of political intrigue and a need for bringing justice than the former play but for me has a great grasp of character that you can see the original couple could easily have ended up in this place.
Lloyd imagines a Verona that has gone further to wrack and ruin after Romeo and Juliet fled and this for me makes the setting a darker place more akin to the Italian city intrigue we know did happen. Veronese life we find is constantly interrupted by infighting and for the non-nobles this costs money and puts many people at fear. I really liked how Lloyd showed the ordinary population are the ones most keen to finally see an end to this and end up being key to the tale’s resolution.
The Capulets and Montagues have sadly not learnt anything and Lloyd gives them a more focused look like Shakespeare did - we see the casual cruelty of both some hidden behind closed doors and cleverly Lloyd links this feud to wider power games in the Italian network of city stakes. This gives the story some powerful intrigue that is an equal match for Romeo and Juliet’s own plan to bring about peace and drives the story so those who enjoy a historical tale of political intrigue may find this story much more appealing.
Lloyd has a great grasp of character and with his version of the lovers we ask how did these experiences of their first meeting shape them. I think Lloyd is very successful. Making them parents and exiles has made them both more aware of the dangers Verona offers their family and yet they now accept they played a role in making things worse. Juliet has to face her mother after two decades in hiding awhile Romeo is no longer the kind of man ready to duel to the death and prefers words to weapons. In particular Romeo’s fighting and killings prove a powerful plot point and the guilt he has for his actions puts the whole story into unforeseen jeopardy. It all rung very true and while Lloyd is not Shakespeare (let’s face it no writer alive is) I really enjoyed the dialogue with a use of metaphor and the wordplay that while does not match the Bard I think very much is a worthy tribute.
This is a tale of becoming the adults and doing the best sometimes even knowing the consequences may have a high price. Lloyd creates a much for me realer Verona and excels at exploring the feuds and how they could get worse and also finally be resolved. It’s a historical tale with no fantastical elements bar that question of what if and for me this is the more satisfactory ending. Intelligent, a great grasp of character and a finely plotted tale I definitely highly recommend!
