Chapter 22: The Historical Note — Background, Context, and Key Takeaways

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens by identifying Amelia Bassano as the imagined author of the Grimoire, The Book of the Raven, a text of left-handed magic in Hoffman's novels. The note then turns to the historical woman behind that fiction: Emilia Bassano Lanier, who lived from 1569 to 1645 and became the first woman in England to publish a volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum. Bassano was a feminist who wrote a defense of Eve, challenging the blame placed on Eve as the originator of sin. She lived through London's plague years and the riots that followed, and the note observes that circumstance shaped her life even as she shaped her own response to it.

The note then addresses theories about Bassano's connection to Shakespeare. Some believe she was the Dark Lady of his poems; others believe she wrote the plays herself and never received credit because of her gender. The note points out that Shakespeare was known to borrow plots, and Bassano was well versed in subjects that appear in his work—falconry, Italian geography, Jewish history and references to the Kabbalah and Talmud, and the Italian stories referenced in the plays. She had also traveled to Elsinore, where Hamlet is set, and knew the castle intimately.

The note then traces Bassano's biography. She was born into a family of Jewish Italian musicians from near Venice who served in the court of Elizabeth I. At thirteen she became mistress of Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, then fifty-six, said to be the son of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and a first cousin of Elizabeth I. Carey was the royal patron of all theater, including theaters producing Shakespeare's plays. Bassano was also said to have had an affair with Christopher Marlowe, who may have been her teacher in writing for the theater. Her cousin wrote songs for Shakespeare's plays, and another family member designed sets and created music. As a girl she was taken up as a ward of Susan Bertie, countess of Kent, which opened the royal world to her. She was also involved with magic and with the court astrologer Dr. Simon Forman, a well-known occultist and herbalist.

The note concludes by emphasizing that Bassano struggled to be heard at a time when women's voices were silenced. In the world of the Owens family, her imagined Grimoire and her belief that words are the most powerful magic have affected every generation. The chapter ends with suggestions for further reading.

Key Events

The chapter identifies Amelia Bassano as the fictional author of The Book of the Raven, a Grimoire of left-handed magic.
It presents the historical Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569–1645), the first woman in England to publish a volume of poems.
It recounts her defense of Eve and her life through the plague years and riots.
It presents theories that she was Shakespeare's Dark Lady or the uncredited author of the plays.
It details her knowledge of falconry, Italian geography, Jewish history, and Elsinore.
It traces her biography: Jewish Italian musician family, ward of Susan Bertie, mistress of Henry Carey at thirteen, affair with Christopher Marlowe, involvement with Dr. Simon Forman.
It connects her imagined Grimoire to the Owens family across generations.

Character Development

Amelia Bassano is not a character in the narrative sense but a historical figure whose imagined legacy shapes the fictional world. The note develops her as a woman of remarkable knowledge and resilience. Her biography shows a life shaped by circumstance—born into a family of court musicians, made a ward of a countess, and at thirteen placed in a relationship with a man more than four decades her senior. Yet the note emphasizes her agency: she did what she could to make the best of fate. Her intellectual range—falconry, Italian geography, Jewish mysticism, theater—suggests a mind that absorbed the world around her despite the constraints of her position. Her defense of Eve marks her as a feminist voice in an era that silenced women. The note presents her as someone whose voice was suppressed but whose influence, in Hoffman's fiction, endures through the Grimoire and its effect on every generation of the Owens family.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Silenced women's voices: The note's central concern is a brilliant woman whose work was not credited, whether as playwright or poet, because of her gender. This echoes the broader theme of women's erasure from history.

Words as magic: The Grimoire is a text, and Bassano's belief that words are the most powerful magic ties the novel's supernatural system to the act of writing itself.

Historical erasure and authorship attribution: The theories about the Dark Lady and the uncredited playwright raise questions about who gets remembered and who gets written out of history.

Jewish exile and hidden lives: The note mentions the exile of Jews from England from 1290 to 1656 and the hidden lives they often led, connecting Bassano's heritage to a broader history of displacement.

Fate versus agency: The observation about fate and Bassano's own efforts captures the tension between circumstance and choice.

Feminist defense of Eve: Bassano's defense of Eve reframes a foundational story of blame, challenging the idea that women are originators of sin.

Occultism and astrology: Her involvement with Dr. Simon Forman links her to the magical practices that inform the novel's world.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter grounds the novel's fictional magic in a real historical figure, giving the Owens family's Grimoire a tangible origin. It also extends the novel's themes of women's voices and historical erasure beyond the fictional narrative into actual history. By presenting the theories about Bassano's connection to Shakespeare, the note invites readers to consider how history is constructed and who is left out. For readers of the series, it deepens the significance of the Grimoire and the Owens family's inheritance of magic.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the historical note connect Amelia Bassano's real life to the fictional Grimoire in the novel?

The note explains that in Hoffman's novels, Bassano is the imagined author of The Book of the Raven, a Grimoire of left-handed magic. Her real-life involvement with magic and the court astrologer Dr. Simon Forman, along with her belief that words are the most powerful magic, provide a plausible historical foundation for the fictional text. The note states that her imagined Grimoire has affected every generation of the Owens family.

2. What evidence does the note offer for the theory that Bassano may have influenced or written Shakespeare's plays?

The note points to Bassano's knowledge of subjects that appear in Shakespeare's work but that he would have had little reason to know personally: falconry, Italian geography, Jewish history and references to the Kabbalah and Talmud, and the Italian stories referenced in the plays. She had also traveled to Elsinore, where Hamlet is set, and knew the castle intimately. The note also mentions that Shakespeare was known to borrow plots and that Bassano's family members contributed music and set design to the plays.

3. How does the note develop the theme of silenced women's voices?

The note states that Bassano struggled for her voice to be heard at a time when women's voices were silenced, no matter how brilliant they might be. It presents the theory that she wrote the plays without credit due to her gender and notes that she was the first woman in England to publish a volume of poems. Her defense of Eve is framed as a feminist act, challenging the blame placed on women. The note thus uses Bassano's story to illustrate how history has often erased women's contributions.