Gertrude And Claudius

John Updike

From Shelf: Parallel Novels: Novels that take off from or re-tell... other novels!

Using details from the ancient Scandinavian legends that were the inspiration for "Hamlet", this tale brings to life Gertrude's girlhood as the daughter of King Rorik, her arranged marriage to the man who becomes King, and her middle-aged affair with her husband's younger brother.

Using details of the ancient Scandinavian legends that were the inspiration for Hamlet, John Updike brings to life Gertrude's girlhood as the daughter of King Rorik, her arranged marriage to the man who becomes King Hamlet, and her middle-aged affair with her husband's younger brother. As only he could, Updike recasts a tale of medieval violence and presents the case for its central couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude's warmth and lucidity, Claudius's soldierly yet peaceable powers of command are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and familial dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, disaffected prince.