The Nantes of Jules Verne

In 1828, the world-renowned science-fiction author, Jules Verne, was born in what was then called the Venice of the West - the city of Nantes, in France.

Around the same period, when Jules Verne was only a baby, the English landscape painter, JMW Turner, drew sketches of Nantes.

Nantes - view from Île Feydeau, Turner 1828

The wonderful drawing above illustrates the lively canal activity around Île Feydeau. Then the home of Nantes' wealthiest families, Île Feydeau's majestic residential buildings can just be discerned on the right-hand side.

In the early 20th century, major diversion projects began in Nantes and lasted through WWII. Before this time, the Erdre, the Loire's tributary, flowed through a number of canals, lending the city a somewhat Venetian aspect. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Nantes' port thrived with large vessels destined for Africa and the Americas, including sadly, slavers. Dark as Nantes' past may be, one easily forms an impression of a bustling trade city comparable to Venice.

Banks of the River Erdre, looking North - Turner

Touring through Nantes one finds much history. There is first the medieval Chateau along the banks of the Loire. The Dukes of Brittany had their seat here and it serves as a wonderful museum today.

The unforgettable Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne, Nantes

Turner's sketch of the castle is lovely too.

Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany - Turner

But a rare treat, if you are a fan of Jules Verne, is to follow the Loire River from the Chateau, past Place Bouffay, all along key spots where one of Brittany's finest authors lived.

18th Century map of Nantes before the diversion of the Erdre

Ile Feydeau lies in the center of the Loire

Stop 1 -  4 Olivier de Clisson Street
An island within a city.
Such is Île Feydeau, which today following the diversion of the Erdre, is accessible on foot.
Parallel to the quay is the old Rue Kervégan which is lined with restaurants and fine mid-18th century buildings. Ile Feydeau is the area of Nantes which was once inhabited by rich slavers and merchants. Its edifices are ornate with marine monsters and creatures that evoke the intense relationship between the island's ancient dwellers and the sea.

Beautiful balconies on Île Feydeau 

The head of marine creatures gracing Île Feydeau homes

It is also on Ile Feydeau, at 4 Olivier de Clisson Street to be precise, that the founder of science-fiction (a title he shares with H.G. Wells), was born. Jules Verne's father was a lawyer and barely of middle-class.

Plaque on 4 Olivier de Clisson Street

"The 8 February 1828

Jules Verne

Novelist

Precursor of Modern Discoveries

Is born in this house."

4 Olivier de Clisson Street

It is no surprise that from a young age, Jules Verne became well-aware of Nantes' trans-atlantic slave trading. He turned out to be a staunch opposer of slavery and of the slave trade, denouncing these in his book, Dick Sand, A Captain of Fifteen. Later in his twenties, he would become a good friend of author, Alexandre Dumas, whose own father had been borne of a slave.

Stop 2 - 2 allee Jean Bart (cours des Cinquantes otages)

At 2 Allee Jean Bart, long before the Erdre was diverted to give birth to what is now the Cours des Cinquantes Otages, we find Jules Verne's other childhood home. His family moved to Jean Bart when he was barely a toddler. They remained there until Jules Verne was 12 years old.

"Jules Verne, as a child lived here from 1829 to 1840."

Stop 3 - Church of Saint Nicolas
Nearby, the basilica of Saint Nicolas, whose earliest building dated from the 12th century and which had undergone a number of evolution through the centuries, was re-constructed starting in 1844 based on plans that had been finalised on the eve of the French Revolution.

Jules Verne's father belonged to the parish council that commissioned this wonderful building.
This neo-gothic church is classified as a historical monument since November 1986.

Neo-Gothic Church of Saint-Nicolas

There are other Jules Verne residences or landmarks in Nantes that are worth mentioning, including 1 Rue Suffren, 6 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Chantenay country home on 29bis rue des Reformes, but all are old stone houses and it can get a little dull.

But if you follow the Loire River toward the Jules Verne Museum, you come across a more recent statue, created as an homage to the celebrated author - it is Captain Nemo looking out across the Loire...and just behind him, a fictitious statue of the young Jules Verne sits on a bench, dreaming of the sea.

And that is a rare treat.
Because to dwell upon the imagination of a child who would one day become one of the world's greatest science fiction authors, well, that is sheer bliss.

Julien's Terror - My Third Novel

This is not the cover of Julien's Terror by the way.

As readers, we do judge a book by its cover, don't we?

What imagery comes to your mind with the words - French Revolution, mysterious woman, tormented couple, obsession, haunting and psychological thriller?

Where to start? How can a self-published author avoid cliches yet use appropriate book cover symbols to draw a desired audience? What is my desired audience? I think she is female, over 25 and obsessed with 18/19th century France. The macabre and gothic must appeal to her while she must also have a fascination for the human mind and for unveiling secrets.

Is that you? Then how can I best attract you with my book cover? Tell me.

The next six months will be intensely creative as I finalise the imagery to feature on the cover of my third novel, Julien's Terror, before preparing an art brief.

Despite the tenebrous aspects of this novel, I was overjoyed over the last months. I spent ample time researching fascinating real-life characters, all of which are featured or mentioned in the story. They include 18th century fortune-teller, Marie Anne Lenormand, writer Germaine Staël, the unflinching Minister of Police Fouché, the brave Breton counter-revolutionary François de Charette, the unique physician Franz Anton Mesmer, to name a few...

I am excited!

And I've saved it for last: Julien's Terror now has a blurb...

***

Julien's Terror

Eight years after France's bloody Reign of Terror, a young couple is happily married in Paris. Julien d'Aureville is an upcoming bourgeois raised in the poor and intensely revolutionary district of Saint-Antoine. His young wife, Marguerite Lafolye, is an orphan from Brittany who escaped the cruelty of Nantes' butcher, Jean-Baptiste Carrier. Fiercely royalist, she remains a mystery to her husband.

Marguerite becomes obsessed with Dauphin Louis-Charles, youngest child of the late Queen Marie-Antoinette and in Le Temple, the medieval prison where Louis-Charles was kept for almost three years before his death. 

Meanwhile terrifying nightmares plague Julien from the beginning of their marriage. In desperation, he reaches out to Paris' celebrated fortune-teller, Marie Anne Lenormand. But when Marie Anne attempts to draw insights into Julien’s wife, she is startled to find that she cannot read her cards.

Who is Marguerite Lafoyle? 

To Marguerite's horror, Napoleon wishes to demolish Le Temple. The couple make a final visit to the old Templar building where Marguerite mysteriously faints.

And then jealousy rears its head. A romantic visit to Napoleon's Venice sees one of the fortune-teller’s predictions come true. When Marguerite meets dashing Austrian, Maximilian Von Hauser, Julien's worst fears are realised.

And it's only getting more sinister... Marguerite begins to behave strangely.

Deep in Marguerite's past, where the tyranny of murderous Republicans meets with ancient Breton folklore, lies a terrifying secret. Is Marguerite a liar? 

Who is she really? And is she truly possessed by the late Dauphin? 

In this chilling psychological tale set in post-revolutionary France, a young couple confront their darkest fears. Looming above them, between healing and oblivion, lies the French Republic's most shocking secret.

In the Name of Courage

Loyalty, a worthwhile trait it may be, and often it is elevated to the highest standing among the qualities required for true friendship, but it pales in comparison to that noble trait of Courage.

To be clear - not the courage to take action in your own life, to keep on trying, to make a change or to follow your dreams, but the quality that allows you to stand up for a friend, when you know they are in the right and when it would ruin your reputation to side by them.

Yes, that kind of courage. The tough kind.

Often relegated to the military, long forgotten as a foundation for relationships, courage stands underrated these days.

Humans have a profound reverence towards courage when it is embodied by historical figures. Those historical figures stand out, as the very best of humanity. And yet when it comes to our every day relationships, and more specifically, when it comes to loyalty in our relationships, the value of courage is forgotten.

Demonstrations of courage are most often frowned upon, at worse they are perceived as foolishness, bravado, absence of maturity, inability to reconcile opposites. A person who takes a stance is seen as 'difficult to work with' or as 'splitting up the family'. We are afraid to rock the boat and to choose a side, and those who do are labeled black sheep.

In retrospect, it is those black sheep that history remembers. In the same way, you can bet that it is those black sheep that stood up for them when no one else would that friends will remember. Because it is easy to be loyal when all odds are in your favor, when your reputation is not at stake and the costs are low, but in times of crisis, it is courage not loyalty that will determine character.

Courage deserves mention because it is through this virtue that the most solid friendships are forged and through its force that human bonds truly shine.

In times of war, it is courage, not loyalty, that will see you hide and save the lives of your endangered friends, and extend a hand to those strangers who are similarly oppressed.

In the advent of a great injustice, it is courage that will allow you to put yourself in unfavorable light to stand up for a friend - often, at the risk of your life and your job.

It is courage that will allow you to give your all, when you know, deep down, you possess nothing yourself and are at risk of becoming destitute.

It is courage that will see you sever ties with, confront, or refuse to engage those who have imperiled or hurt those you love.

It is courage that prompts you to speak up and make a fool of yourself for the sake of defending a loved one.

Through your acts of courage, you are making a public choice for all to see. This position is often difficult and places you under a vulnerable light - it is this which is the true test of loyalty.

And so I put it to you, what use is loyalty, or even, what use is believing in your friend, or having the same convictions as your friend without the courage to go with it?

For lack of courageous saviors, people have ended up in concentration camps, alone or dead.

Courage is highly compatible with the idea that humans can only truly be friends with a few people. Not hundreds. Not thousands. You might think your sociability and your affability serves you well and that you can befriend more than a hundred souls but if you are to be a loyal friend, remember that you cannot please everyone.

Because when you are forced to make a choice, when you are dislodged from your fence and courageously stand by those you are loyal to, you will no doubt be forced to leave others behind.

And that, in itself, takes courage.

Victor Hugo and the Joker

Batman first, and now the upcoming Suicide Squad. As consumers of books and cinema, we love our Joker. Love his deviancy, his devilish mind. A grand villain shines in a graphic novel. He makes a film.

It is a fact - and I will let you discover that on your own - that when the Joker was imagined, he was based, at least physically, on this guy here. This guy, his name is Gwynplaine and he existed long before in Victor Hugo's wonderful novel, L'Homme Qui Rit - the man who laughs.

The plot of L'Homme Qui Rit is one of survival, love and identity. Gwynplaine's character is a far-cry from the Joker he has become. Yes, they both have that eternal mouth slit, revealing a somewhat grotesque smile, but their natures are entirely opposites. Sure, they are both outcasts of society, they probably both see clearly the world's injustices, but popular culture has obscured their differences, at least for those who have not read Victor Hugo.

The Joker

Courtesy DC Wikia

It is unfortunate. Unfortunate that a character who possessed not a shred of criminal behavior is known only today through his psychopathic offspring. Because Gwynplaine was not unlike Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean in Les Miserables - Jean Valjean who time and time again redeems himself, demonstrating endless humanity and selflessness. In the same manner, Gwynplaine who initially errs in the plot of L'Homme Qui Rit, and allows himself to be flattered by fate reversals, becomes, at the end of the novel, utterly self-sacrificing, placing humankind, love and friendship above everything.

For me this is never more true as when Gwynplaine speaks up in the House of Lords. He is himself a Lord, has been from birth, until he was abducted as a child, defaced by comprachicos (child buyers), and abandoned to die. He survived. He lived for years with a hermit named Ursus and his dog, both entertaining the masses in 17th century England. The crowds, poor and rich, come in droves to see that permanent smile upon his face. To them he is a clown and were he to weep inside, they still would believe he is laughing.

Gwynplaine and Dea entertain the crowds

Found again through Queen Anne's intervention, by some miracle of fate, Gwynplaine experiences a reversal of fortune. Once again, he is Lord. He is wealthy. But Gwynplaine has enough conscience to speak his mind and he attempts to enact change. Gwynplaine, who knows and understands the sufferings of the world, having endured for years, addresses the House of Lords and explains what he has seen.

Gwynplaine addresses the Chamber of the Lords, 19th century illustration

This is Victor Hugo speaking, make no mistake. Victor Hugo, after all, is more than any author, the friend of the poors. And so for me, it was one of the gem passages in L'Homme Qui Rit.

And addressing himself haughtily to Gwynplaine:

- Who are you? Where do you come from?

Gwynplaine replied:

- From the abyss. Who am I? I am misery. Mylords, I wish to speak with you.

There was a shudder, and a silence. Gwynplaine continued.

- Mylords, you are above. It is well. One must believe that God has his reasons for this. You have the power, the opulence, the joy, the sun sits immobile upon your zenith, the authority without boundaries, the enjoyment free of sharing, the immense oversight of others. So be it. But there is something that exists beneath you. And above you perhaps. Mylords, I come to bring you the news. Humankind exists. 

I am one who comes from the depths. 
Mylords, you are great and wealthy. It is perilous. You take advantage of the night. But be on your guard, there is a great power, an aurora. The dawn can not be vanquished. She will come. She comes. She has in her, the spring of the irresistible day. And who would prevent this sling from tossing the sun into the sky? The sun, it gives the right. You, you embody privilege. Be afraid. 

The true master of the house will strike at the door. 
What is the father of privilege?
Fate.
And who is her son?
Abuse.

Neither fate nor abuse are solid. They have, one and the other, an adverse tomorrow.
I come to warn you.

I come to denounce your happiness. It is made of the unhappiness of others.
You have everything, and this everything is composed of the nothing of others.

Mylords, I am the desperate lawyer, and I plead a lost cause.
This cause, God will win it again. 
Me, I am nothing but a voice.
Humankind is a mouth of which I am the cry.
You will hear me. 

More than ever today, Gwynplaine and his cause are relevant. But his honest message has been buried.
The Joker, like Daesh, they are both extreme examples of dissatisfied outcasts, pariahs of society who, outraged by a corrupt universe, rebel through crime and bring nothing other than suffering and outrage. They hurt innocents and leave the infrastructures they wish to topple unchanged or more manipulative and powerful than ever. They reinforce schisms and intolerance.
They are figures we understand as evil because they are evil. And in fighting evil we forget the root and causes.

Gwynplaine, like Victor Hugo, understands this root, he only speaks his truth. He threatens nothing. He says:

I come to denounce your happiness. It is made of the unhappiness of others.

You have everything, and this everything is composed of the nothing of others.

Yet like the Lords who end up laughing at him, we laugh every day and every moment that this truth is encountered and ignored.

I wanted to give homage to Gwynplaine in this post because for me it was important. The Joker has one nature, Gwynplaine has quite another.

Victor Hugo,drawing

The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice - Now a Movie

It is the dream of many writers to see their creations up on the big screen. Historical novelists understand that a cinematic production is a welcome companion to a novel - bringing to life the glow of characters, their costumes, their emotions and all the drama and vibrancy of complex period sets. From Game of Thrones to the humble The Book Thief, people all over the world wish to see stories enacted. Even those who prefer the written word over film, possess an innate curiosity to compare, contrast or else discover the 'how' - how the story will be executed, how the story will become cinema.

For me the two are inseparable. I have respect for both writing and film making. I see film as its own creation - a unique dance between light, sound, art, acting and the talent of another breed of storyteller informed with semiotic sensitivity - the director.  I see film as a powerful marketing device for writers who are too often shy of media platforms. I see films as recognition that something is worth projecting to screen and worth disseminating visually to those who might not enjoy reading but who are lovers of good entertainment.

Mostly, I see film as a wonderful opportunity to reveal my characters.

Indulge me. Are you ready to discover The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice like never before? I hope you will like my casting. 

Magdalena / Elena - Phoebe Tonkin

Blessed with sultry, sensual looks that render her almost Mediterranean, this Australian beauty, born in Sydney, already has a solid supernatural film background under her belt.

In H20 she has played a Mermaid and now has recently appeared in Vampire Diaries. 

I love how this actress can appear Italian and has a certain raw quality that is perfect for the Naples-born character.


The gossipers of Venice brand Magdalena a witch, but she is more than that - an artist, a devoted wife and in a world ruled by men, a free-spirit who never gives up.

Phoebe's velvety, breathy voice is also perfect for this witch, this janara who captivates and haunts.  

Phoebe could play both the roles of Magdalena and her daughter, Elena, in the same way Natalie Portman interpreted two roles in Goya's Ghosts. A perfect cast. 

Antonio da Parma - Mark Strong

I have a big crush on this guy ever since I saw him in the role of Hani Salaam in Body of Lies. Actually what struck me in the film was the palpable, yet understated chemistry between Hani and Leonardo di Caprio's character. This sexual ambiguity is perfect for the role of Antonio da Parma. 

But what befits this character most is that Mark Strong (whose real name, by the way, is Marco Giuseppe Salussolia) has a thrilling broodiness, while his sharp gaze burns with intuitive intelligence. In short, the would-be inquisitor inspires fear even as he seduces. 

There is also a secretive quality in his eyes which is crucial for the role.  Finally Mark Strong is over 1,90m and would stand nicely alongside a particular someone who happens to be my favourite character...the towering Esteban del Valle.

Oh, I forgot to add that Mark Strong looks dashing in a turban - which as you know, is all the rage in 15th century Venice. Bring it on!

Esteban del Valle - Omar Sy

Wonder of wonders, it's Esteban. What a handsome, charming and noble soul. It has to be Omar Sy. No other will do. 

Masked for most of the film, the actor will only reveal his face twice. Yet you will see more of him than any other character because all the drama and panache is about this mysterious Catalan-born Venetian - the way he moves, such that even Antonio da Parma cannot stop looking at him, the way he dresses, the way he wields his sword, his daring, the boldness of his voice - all this, while in him dwells the purest of hearts.

Esteban del Valle and Omar Sy seem to share a few things in common. Esteban del Valle is a deeply altruistic and street-savvy character.  Meanwhile, with his deep involvement in the charitable organisation CEKEDUBONHEUR, it's not for nothing that Omar Sy was recently called "Omar au grand coeur".  (Omar with the big heart.)

Omar Sy it is. The Senegalese actor is perfect for the role of this talented part-Ghanaian sword master and traveler. This is because geographically, Ghana during the 15th century was not actually the same Ghana as today...nuance! 

Omar Sy - in tights, velvet and a cape. Add a mask and a sword. 

Is your heart melting yet? 

Catarina Contarini - Jessica Chastain

No stranger to horror and supernatural roles (Mama, Crimson Peak), Jessica Chastain will interpret the romantically tormented, intense and scheming patrician woman whose concealed designs set in motion the whole drama of The Mascherari. 

I admit I also chose Jessica because she was a red head, just like Catarina.  

From carnal to puritan, victim to Judas, Jessica Chastain will unveil a breadth that she has not displayed previously. Yet there will always remain that cool reserve she showed in A Most Violent Year, all the while fires will burn within. Fires will burn,  because what matters is that she will be fully smitten by her husband and relentless like no other in her jealous pursuit of happiness.

Giacomo Contarini - Martin Csukas

Ever since I saw Martin Csukas alongside Vin Diesel in xXx, I was hooked.

Actually before settling on Martin for the role of patrician merchant, Giacomo Contarini, I had envisaged actor, Oscar Isaac with a beard...but that didn't work very well.

Yes, Martin will be heavily bearded, grow his hair down to his shoulders Yorgi-style and wear tights, boots and ermine capes. 

The patrician will gesticulate as he did in xXx, command attention and have that alluring sex appeal that so attaches his wife to him. 

Just like in xXx he will enjoy his women, enjoy deceiving others and will have an innate misogyny.

And he looks Italian! 

Rolandino Vitturi - Riccardo Scarmacio

There is no other character in The Mascherari, apart from Francesco Visconti, who is more taunted than Rolandino. 

When we first encounter the broker, he is brash and boastful but it conceals his anxieties and deep animosity. 

Later in prison, he is haunted, weepy and incoherent. The Council of Ten assert that he must be mad. Madness is what I see in Riccardo Scarmacio's unruly, intense gaze. It's great! 

I like his energy, a quality that could translate into violence - something that Rolandino exhibits in the story more than others notably in his cruel treatment of our maskmaker, Francesco Visconti.


I also feel that this Italian actor could portray emotional desperation - he could be that guilt-ridden man, and I think he would be a delicious victim for our witch. 

Almoro Donato - Terrance Stamp

The Council of Ten member must inspire fear, respect and everything that is powerful about the Venice Republic. 

He must seem respectable, knowledgeable and wise. There must be authority in his demeanor while his facial structure should not depart widely from Mark Strong's to make it more plausible that this one could disguise himself as the Council member and break into the secret archives of the palace...

Terrance Stamp is perfect.  He will need to wear brown contact lenses.

Francesco Visconti - Leonardo di Caprio

Do you sometimes want to challenge actors? I have seen so much bravado and self-sufficiency in Leonardo di Caprio. Even when he is vulnerable, he never looks downtrodden enough. 

I want to see him broken. I want to see him as the Milanese, Francesco Visconti. Penniless, maintained for years by his beautiful wife, Magdalena, a newly-taught artist with a complete ignorance of the treachery in others' hearts.  In a world of schemers and hypocrites, himself incapable of masks and the victim of foul murder, Francesco Visconti IS the mascheraro.  

Francesco is that soul who is wronged.  What attracts Magdalena is that Francesco is the complete opposite of Giacomo Contarini.  

Can Di Caprio portay a character devoid of pride, can he be vulnerable? Can he make you cry? I know he can do it. 

Francesco Visconti is older than the actor but as we saw with his recent beard-do in The Revenant, Di Caprio can easily pull off a more mature look.  He will need to whiten his hair and put on a little weight.

Battista Alberti - Richard Madden

In all evidence from 15th century sculptures and portraits, our Italian Renaissance Man with his generous curls and well-formed lips was ever boyish and good looking.

For the first time in cinema's history, Leon Battista Alberti will come to life through no other than actor, Richard Madden. Incidentally Richard has just been cast as another Florentine for a TV series covering the Medici family. I had no idea he would interpret Cosimo de Medici when I made my decision.

The Game of Thrones actor resembles Alberti nicely - he can also do fresh-faced, as he did in Cinderella, but we will limit it to just enough youthful charm.

Times are hard when you are an orphaned, disinherited youth, striving to study and survive in the Venice Republic. Thank heavens, the nineteen year old Alberti has learned to use his wits, and will soon employ his secret talents to come to Antonio da Parma's aid.

That is the cast so far, I hope to supplement as I go along. What are your thoughts? Have you read the book and who do you see as playing the characters?

The casting is almost done.  That's the easy part. Now I just need 30 million dollars.