Shakespeare for Squirrels: A Novel (Fool #3)(79)

In addition to the characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I also modelled Blacktooth and Burke on Dogberry and Verges, the men of the watch from Much Ado About Nothing, but upon rereading Much Ado in preparation, I found I quite liked Dogberry, and although a nitwit, he endeavored to be virtuous, so I changed the names to allow Blacktooth and Burke to fall on the more villainous side of the fence. Rumour, Painted Full of Tongues, the narrator, is drawn from Henry IV, Part 2, where he is, indeed, described as being “painted full of tongues” but exhibits none of the supernatural powers nor hubris with which I have endowed him. There have been lines and phrases drawn from the other plays as well, but as I forgot to make note of them, you may bask in your own cleverness if you recognized a line.





Acknowledgments




Thanks to Austin Tichenor, intrepid leader of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, who read the manuscript and gave helpful notes,

despite being more than somewhat over the charm of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Also, thanks, as always, to my editor, Jennifer Brehl, for her cool head and composure in the face of so much heinous fuckery,

and of course, thanks to my wife, Charlee, for putting up with it all.





About the Author


Christopher Moore is the author of sixteen previous novels, including Noir, Secondhand Souls, Sacré Bleu, Fool, and Lamb. He lives in San Francisco, California.

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