Miranda in Milan

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Miranda in Milan
"Miranda in Milan" by Katharine Duckett.jpg
Official cover art for Miranda in Milan
Author Katharine Duckett
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy literature;
Set in Milan
Publisher Tor.com
Publication date
26 March 2019
Pages208 (paperback)
ISBN 1250306329
Website https://www.katharineduckett.com/fiction

Miranda in Milan is a 2019 fantasy novella, the debut novella by Katharine Duckett. It is a modern-day sequel to The Tempest by William Shakespeare, and imagines the events which occur after the end of the original play. It won the 2020 Golden Crown Literary Society award for Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Contents

Plot

After the events of The Tempest, Miranda does not marry Ferdinand as planned. Instead, she returns to Milan with Prospero, who has regained his position as duke. She is shunned by the castle staff; her only friend is the servant Dorothea, a Moorish witch, with whom she soon begins a romantic relationship. Miranda learns that Prospero has not given up his magic as he previously promised.

Desperate to learn why she is being shunned and about the circumstances of Prospero's fall from grace, Dorothea and Miranda use magic to invade the memories of a castle staff member. Miranda learns that after the death of her mother Beatrice, Prospero used his magic to resurrect her. This led a horrified Antonio to stage a coup against his brother.

When Miranda learns that Antonio is being held prisoner in the castle, she and Dorothea attempt to rescue him and stage another coup. Prospero catches them, but is confronted by the reanimated corpse of his wife, who has been living beneath the castle. Prospero is then killed by his brother. Miranda chooses to reject her arranged marriage with Ferdinand. She, Dorothea, and Beatrice return to the magical island where she was raised.

Themes

The novella explores the ways in which imposing one's views on others can be destructive. Prospero claims that he has a right to rule over Sycorax and Caliban because he is "civilized". Meanwhile, Dorothea is forced to change her name from the original Duriya in order to fit into European civilization. [1] The novella has been described as postcolonialist. [2]

Reception

The novella received mixed reviews from critics. Library Journal gave a positive review, praising the way in which Miranda was transformed from a secondary character into a fully-realized heroine. [3] The Lambda Literary Foundation praised the novel's lesbian romance, calling it "femslash for Shakespeare." They also praised Prospero's characterization, calling him "utterly believable". [4] A Locus Magazine review praised the novel's "crisp prose" and complex themes. [1]

NPR wrote a mixed review which called the debut "solid", praising its treatment of women and the believability of the novella's original characters. However, the same review criticized the way in which Ferdinand is written out of the story, as well as the way in which Caliban's attempted rape of Miranda is "handwave[d] away". [5] Publishers Weekly criticized the power differential inherent in Miranda's and Dorothea's romance, feeling that it undermined the novella's postcolonialist themes. [2] Kirkus Reviews considered the novel to have a "promising premise", but overall faulted Duckett's "characters [who] lack depth" and "pedestrian language". [6]

The novella won the 2020 Golden Crown Literary Society award for Science Fiction/Fantasy, tying with three other works. [7]

Related Research Articles

Prospero Character in William Shakespeares The Tempest

Prospero is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him to sea on a "rotten carcass" of a boat to die, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda had survived and found exile on a small island. He has learned sorcery from books, and uses it while on the island to protect Miranda and control the other characters.

Caliban, son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Miranda (<i>The Tempest</i>) Character in The Tempest

Miranda is one of the principal characters of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. She is the only female character to appear on stage.

<i>Prosperos Books</i> 1991 British film by Peter Greenaway

Prospero's Books is a 1991 British avant-garde film adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Sir John Gielgud plays Prospero, the protagonist who provides the off-screen narration and the voices to the other story characters. As noted by Peter Conrad in The New York Times on 17 November 1991, Greenaway intended the film “as an homage to the actor and to his "mastery of illusion." Sir John's Prospero is Shakespeare, and having rehearsed the action inside his head, speaking the lines of all the other characters, he concludes the film by sitting down to write The Tempest.”

The Tempest is an opera by English composer Thomas Adès with a libretto in English by Meredith Oakes based on the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

<i>The Tempest</i> (1979 film) 1979 British drama film

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Sycorax Character in Shakespeares The Tempest

Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

Stephano (<i>The Tempest</i>) character in The Tempest

Stephano is a boisterous and often drunk butler of King Alonso in William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. He, Trinculo and Caliban plot against Prospero, the ruler of the island on which the play is set and the former Duke of Milan in Shakespeare's fictional universe. In the play, he wants to take over the island and marry Prospero's daughter, Miranda. Caliban believes Stephano to be a god because he gave him wine to drink which Caliban believes healed him.

Ariel (<i>The Tempest</i>) Character in The Tempest

Ariel is a spirit who appears in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Ariel is bound to serve the magician Prospero, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax, the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that he saved Ariel from Sycorax's spell, and with promises to grant Ariel his freedom. Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears throughout the play, using his magical abilities to cause the tempest in Act One which gives the play its name, and to foil other characters' plots to bring down their master.

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References

  1. 1 2 Liz Bourke (26 Apr 2019). "Liz Bourke Reviews Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett". Locus . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett". Publishers Weekly. 7 Feb 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. Kristi Chadwick (1 Feb 2019). "Miranda in Milan". Library Journal . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. Carling Mars (1 Apr 2019). "Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett". Lambda Literary Foundation . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. Elizabeth Graham (24 March 2019). "'Miranda In Milan:' No Woman Is An Island". NPR . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. "Miranda in Milan". Kirkus Reviews. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. "2020 Goldie Winners". Golden Crown Literary Society . Retrieved 16 July 2020.