Do you remember the interesting film Stealing Shakespeare, which tells the story of the theft and recovery of the Durham University First Folio (for which, q.v.)?
Shakespeare and Love tells you more—much more—about the case and about Raymond Scott, the man convicted of handling (though not of stealing) the stolen property.
Mike Kelly is a journalist who followed the story for a year and a half. Scott may have communicated more to and with him than he did to and with his own solicitors and barristers.
The book gives a lot of information about that relationship. Indeed, it told me much more than I really wanted to know! But I'm glad the information is out there—including the semi-confessions Scott made to Kelly and subsequently retracted.
In one anecdote, Scott implied that he might have gone into the library, broken into one of the cases, stolen some books, and exited. When he found that he wasn't challenged, he hid his horde in some bushes and went back and did the same with the First Folio. But later he told Kelly that it was all fairy stories.
If you're interested, it's worth looking into. As a sample, I've decided to give you the epilogue. It contains Scott's last communication with Kelly and an account of the sad end of his life.
Click below to purchase the book from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
No comments:
Post a Comment