Scripta Mediterranea (E-Journal)

Melgar-Foraster, Shaudin

Reviews 
Remedy for Treason. Caroline Roe. Berkley Prime Crime. New York: 
Penguin, 1998. 259 pp. 
Remedy for Treason 1 by Caroline Roe (pseudonym of Medora Sale) is the first 
book in a serit:s of novels that take place in fourteenth-century Catalonia. Author 
of several mystery novels, Caroline Roe, in her Remedy for Treason, carries the 
reader off into a medieval world in which courtly intrigue and the daily tasks of a 
Jewish doctor called Isaac from the Catalan city of Girona are intertwined. 
Although Isaac is blind, his blindness does not prevent his resolving the tangled 
conspiracy to murder the Catalan King Pere III, discovering the culprits and tying 
together the loose ends of a plot of which inexplicable murders and kidnappings 
form part. And it will be Isaac, as well, who, with the logic and cunning of the best 
known detectives of fiction, will solve each one of the mysteries presented in the 
novels of the series.2 
Remedy for Treason is not a mystery story that simply happens to be set in me-
dieval times; it reaches beyond such simplification. In an article which appeared 
in 1999 in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, a comparison is made between 
Remedy for Treason and Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, a comparison which 
indicates that we are dealing with a literary text of more import than we might 
have believed at first. Though the comparison in the article mostly takes into ac-
count the cinematic elements of both novels (and it should be mentioned that 
Remedy for Treason, however, cheerfully escapes the crudeness of The Name of the 
Rose), both texts are impeccably elaborated thrillers set in medieval times, and, it 
should be emphasized, both benefit from the excellent research carried out by their 
respective authors into the medieval world. 
Caroline Roe is not only a mystery writer but also a scholar: she has a doc-
torate in medieval studies from the University of Toronto. In Remedy for Treason, 
Caroline Roe's knowledge of the times in which the novel takes place, in addition 
to her meticulously carried out research and the support given her by a number of 
esteemed medievalists, has brought about the creation of a novel of faultless his-
torical verisimilitude. This prompts us to attempt to categorize Remedy for 
Treason according to genre: is it a historical novel or is it a mystery? It would 
seem to be both, with its perfect coupling of well-planned intrigue and historical 
accuracy. Similarly, its characters are an interesting mixture of fact (King Pere III 
-given the Spanish version of his name (Pedro) in the original English edition of 
the novel-Tomas de Bellmunt, the bishop Berenguer .. . ) and fiction (Isaac, Raquel, 
Yusuf ... ). And it is precisely with its characters that Remedy for Treason trans-
SCRIPTA MEDITERRANEA , Vol. XXI, 2000, 95 
1Translated into Spanish as Remedio para la traici6n and into Catalan as Remeis i trai'cions, 
both in 1999. 
2 Cure for a Charlatan (1999), An Antidote for Avarice (1999), and one ready for publication. 
96 Reviews 
cends the normal boundaries of the mystery story to reach the heights of the novel. 
In the way of Sir Walter Scott, Caroline Roe presents a story set in medieval 
times whose characters possess a strong credibility for today's reader. The char-
acters in Remedy for Treason are, without exception, believable and human; their 
motivation is accessible. That the events take place in fourteenth century Girona, 
that several of the protagonists actually existed and that the medieval atmosphere 
is reproduced in all its detail, does not stop the reader from experiencing an at-
traction to the characters, from identifying with them and, thus, being carried 
along by the narration, a narration which, made up of diverse scenes gradually 
falling into place, captures the interest of the reader by forcing her in a sense to 
participate in the unfolding of the text. 
In conclusion, it is only necessary to add that the choice of medieval Girona 
as the setting for Remedy for Treason was no mere chance. Fourteenth century 
Girona, as Caroline Roe herself explains, "was a very progressive city, as indi-
cated by its laws and its judicial system."3 With its events unfolding in a progres-
sive medieval city, its easily accessible characters, its narrative construction of 
great swiftness, Remedy for Treason creates a complicity that takes hold of the 
reader from its very first page. 
Shaudin Melgar-Foraster 
University of Toronto 
Les Memoires de la Mediterranee. Prehistoire et antiquite. Fernand Braudel. 
Edited by Rosalyne de Ayala and Paule Braudel. Preface and Notes by Jean 
Guilaine and Pierre Rouillard. Paris: Editions de Fallois, 1998. Pp. 399. 
Fernand Braudel (1902-85) had a brilliant career. Agrege at the age of 21, he 
taught in Algeria and Brazil; his early research in the archives of Ragusa 
(Dubrovnik) introduced him to maritime and commercial records; he was closely 
associated with the Anna/es d'histoire economique et socia/e, founded in 1929 by 
Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch. After the war, he presided over the "jury de l'a-
gregation," held a chair in the College de France, and pioneered area studies in 
France. His passionate love-affair with the Mediterranean (inspired, perhaps, not 
only by his Algerian experience but also by an early meeting with Henri Pirenne) 
was a constant of his career. His doctoral thesis La Mediterranee et le monde 
mediterraneen a /'epoque de Philippe II (1947) became a best-seller when published 
in 1949 (revised second edition, 1966). In this fundamental work, Braudel intro-
duced, with reference to the Mediterranean area between 1550 and 1600, his the-
ory of "Jes temps differents du passe," the different rhythms, long and short term, 
that form the structure of /'histoire globale. Braudel affirmed the primacy of 
agricultural life in the Mediterranean region, the overwhelming importance of "le 
temps long qui finit par l'emporter," and his "structuralist" approach: "Je suis 
'structuraliste' par temperament, peu sollicite par l'evenement, et a demi seulement 
3M6nica Fernandez, "Caroline Roe: escritora de libros de misterio. " La Vanguardia 19 June 
1999: my translation. 


English

Remedy for Treason. Caroline Roe. Berkley Prime Crime. New York: Penguin, 1998. 259 pp.

Alberti, Aitana

Curriculum 
Es la recien nacida alegre de Los rfos 
americanos, es la hija de las desastres ... 
No en Madrid ni en Parfs 
ni en las amenazadas ondas del oceano 
ni en donde Pablo Neruda 
ofreci6 las racimos tras la nieve 
ni en la Cordoba austral 
para las ojos del dolor pafiuelo 
Sf a la orilla del rfo sin orillas 
triste y quieto y dormido de pronto una llanura 
rfo mas bien de cobre o de curtido bronce silencioso 
moreno y largo de cabellos 
duke peso que siempre llevara consigo 
N acimiento en la paz 
Finalmente la paz y las trabajos que la paz impone 
y aprenderse este nombre cada dfa 
Marfa Aitana Carmen Margarita 
Carmen y Margarita ad6nde fueron? 
Marfa Aitana callada 
nifia de mil secretos 
Rafael Alberti 
en el coloquio absorta huida par un aire de clarfsimos bosques 
y en torno a su estatura el breve afiil del viento 
Nifia de mil secretos 
Aitana nada mas 
Para ti, nifia Aitana 
remontando los rios, 
este ramo de agua. 
Y ellos 
las peregrinos 
le donaron su sitio entre las cosas 
un poquito de polvo 
inmenso coma el beso nocturno 
SCRIPTA MEDITERRANEA, Vol.XXII, 5 
6 Aitana Alberti 
Que raro que se Harne agua pequena 
montes allende el mar 
perfume del almendro 
La nostalgia de aquello cada dfa 
aquello que el dolor alzaba en vilo 
parafso vedado para muchos 
la entera geograffa abierta alrededor 
menos ese precioso lugar sobre la tierra 
Quien lo dirfa hermanos 
la vida naveg6 en un instante los caminos 
y aquel siglo parti6 
y ellos tambien partieron 
dejandola tan sola 
tan sola y triste y sola que no acierta a creerlo 
hoy sabado 17 de marzo del afio 2001 antes del mediodfa 
en la isla de Cuba que es su predio y su casa 
refugio de todo cuanto tiene y dej6 de tener 
y volvera a tener si Dios lo quiere 
Alguna vez le Hegan raras visitaciones 
eso no significa que de su pluma se alee un rumor de palomas 
apenas son sefiales fnfimos ecos de los desconocido 
Algo mas preguntais? 
Anadire muy poco 
Dos hijas creci6 el tiempo y el amor incurable 
por quienes como frutos se vuelcan en los surcos 
Sabed esto tambien 
La sesgada doblez de los tigres ocultos 
el zarpazo que lanzan desde su torpe nido 
no penetran el centro de la aurora 
ni mellan el cristal. 
Alta en la muchedumbre 
escribe sobre el agua el nombre que le dieron 
Que mayor dicha cabe en una gota sola? 
Nacer es resbalar del cosmos al olvido 
Aitana Alberti 
En Plea.mar, frente a Ia Corriente del Golfo 
Curriculum 7 
Curriculum 
She is the happy newborn of the rivers 
of the Americas, the daughter of disasters ... 
Not in Madrid nor in Paris 
nor on the threatened ocean waves 
nor where Pablo Neruda 
offered clusters after the snow 
nor in the southern city of Cordoba 
for the eyes of the aching handkerchief 
But at the shore of the shoreless river 
sad and still sleeping suddenly a prairie 
river of copper or beaten bronze silent 
with long dark hair 
sweet burden that she will always carry with her 
Born in peace 
Finally peace and the work that peace imposes 
and learning this name every day 
Maria Aitana Carmen Margarita 
Carmen and Margarita where did they go? 
quiet Marfa Aitana 
child of a thousand secrets 
Rafael Alberti 
in the absorbed dialogue lost through a wind of the bright forests 
and the brief indigo of the wind centered on her height 
Child of a thousand secrets 
Marfa Aitana nothing more 
For you, child Aitana 
overcoming the rivers, 
this branch of water. 
And they 
the pilgrims 
gave her their place between things 
a little bit of dust 
as immense as the nighttime kiss 
How strange that she is named little water 
mountains beyond the sea 
perfume of the almond tree 
8 Aitana Alberti 
The nostalgia of that every day 
the one on which the pain lifted 
forbidden paradise for many 
the entire geography open all around 
except for that precious place on the ground 
Who would have said 
in an istant life navigated the paths 
and that century separated 
and they too separated 
leaving her so alone 
so alone and sad and lonely that she doesn't manage to believe it 
today Saturday march 17 of the year 2001 before noon 
on the island of Cuba that is her land and her house 
refuge of everything she has and stopped having 
and will have again God willing 
Sometimes she receives strange visitations 
that doesn't mean the murmur of doves rose from her pen 
they're just negligible signs echoes of the unknown 
Are you asking me something else? 
I will add very little 
Time and incurable love raised two daughters 
for whom they throw themselves like fruit into the furrows 
You should know this too 
The quiet deceitfulness of the hidden tigers 
the swipe they take from their cumbersome nest 
do not penetrate the centre of the dawn 
or damage the glass 
High in the crowd 
over the water she writes the name they gave her 
What better saying fits in a single drop? 
To be born is to slide from the cosmos into obscurity 
Aitana Alberti 
In Pleamar, by the Gulf Streem 
Translated by Elizabeth Abraham Gomez 


Curriculum

Friggieri, Oliver

Points of Contact between Italian Romanticism and the Maltese Literature; The Maltese literary background

Dennis, Nigel

Rafael Alberti and the Grammar of Exile

Figueredo, Maria L.

Desire, Duality and Naming the Other in Unamuno's Niebla: Retrieving the Archetype of the Instinctual Self in the Search for Integrated Conciousness

Magri, Kevin

78 Reviews 
Juana Toledano Molina, "El teatro de Ramon Goy de Silva" and Francisco J. 
Sedefto Rodriguez, "Entre Montilla y Amsterdam: una 'Peregrinatio Amoris"', 
also undertake an archeological enterprise. Cruz Casado presents a study of a 
forgotten early twentieth-century author whose fantastic fiction, mainly short 
stories, deserves vindication; Juan Toledano Molina does the same with the 
symbolist Spanish theatre of the nineteenth-century, which she considers to be 
at the core of twentieth-century innovations in Spanish theater. Sedefto 
Rodriguez presents the forgotten works of a seventeenth-century Sephardic 
writer, Miguel de Barrios, who, in Holland, continued to innovate and write in 
the Spanish literary tradition that exiled him. Lastly, Emilio Quintana's article 
traces the literary experience of several young vanguard poets in Madrid in the 
heyday of Ultraism. The critic studies the evolution of these young poets, who, 
after winning regional literary prizes, arrived in Madrid and clustered around 
a transatlantic peripheral figure, the Chilean poet Huidobro, head of this avant-
garde school. 
Cordoba lingiHstica y literaria, and the collection Letras de la Subbetica, is an 
excellent academic enterprise for all interested in these Spanish regions and the 
Iberian Peninsula in general. Both the linguistic and literary studies in the. vol-
ume are a fine showcase of academic endeavors in the area. Finally, its focus on 
region-center cultural interactions provides an enriching perspective on diverse 
literary topics and traditions. 
Jorge Carlos Guerrero 
University of Toronto 
Encounters with Malta. Eds. Petra Bianchi and Peter Serracino Inglott. Malta: 
Encounter Books, 2000. 
On Pope John Paul H's visit to Malta in 1990, the pontiff declared that 
"Malta is not unaffected by the problems and changes transforming the cultur-
al as well as the political face of Europe and the world. Because of its geo-
graphical position and history, Malta presents a symbiosis of European and 
Mediterranean cultures and is thus well-placed to observe and participate in the 
present changes of outlook" (351). Long before the Pope's declaration, Maltese 
studies had been a rigorous and fascinating research area with boundaries often 
crossing and complementing more mainstream disciplines. The central location 
of Malta and her sister islands in the Mediterranean had lured visitors from 
around the globe to study and to recount their experiences with her rich culture. 
Despite the plethora of research materials now available, students outside the 
archipelago wishing to delve into Maltese studies have had to work diligently 
in piecemeal fashion to gain a comprehensive overview of Maltese history and 
culture, especially when in relation to global history and culture. Thankfully, 
both new and experienced researchers can get that essential overview from 
Encounters with Malta. 
This book documents various "encounters" that significant foreigners had 
with Malta or Maltese culture. Benedict Anderson's seminal study Imagined 
Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (1st ed. 1983; rev. ed. 
1991) recognised that representations of a culture by foreigners can have as much 
Reviews 79 
if not more impact than natives' construction of their own national identity. 
Appropriately, the editors of Encounters with Malta chose wisely to profile indi-
viduals who did not necessarily travel the Maltese islands, but who still con-
tributed to perceptions of Malta and the Maltese. Two of the most recognisable 
contributors to Encounters with Malta are long-time Maltese scholars Peter 
Serracino Inglott and Paul Xuereb. The research team consists of other academics 
and professionals with established interests in multi-disciplinary fields that both 
include and exceed Maltese studies. Consequently, the volume represents a 
cross-section of the humanities, with particular attention to literature, music, the 
visual arts, history, and politics. Encounters with Malta bridges cultures and disci-
plines over more than two millennia, making it an excellent resource. 
Encounters with Malta opens with a foreword by Professor Guido de Marco, 
President of Malta, and active promoter for over 30 years of Malta's interna-
tional significance. A second foreword by Michael J. Bianchi, a representative 
of the researchers' sponsor (Encounters with Malta is the "Millennium Project of 
Vodafone Malta Ltd" [5]), acknowledges the continued need for cross-cultural 
communications and studies to promote "a deep and knowledgeable under-
standing of the other side" (5) to ensure a world of tolerance and cooperation. 
These forewords testify to the importance of Maltese studies within and beyond 
the academy. The volume is then divided into three major sections. "Section 
One" examines Malta from its recordings in ancient Greek epic to AD 1530 
when the Knights of St. John colonised the islands. "Section Two" examines the 
period of Malta's effective Europeanisation during the Knights' 268-year reign. 
"Section Three" examines Malta during British colonisation and post-1964 inde-
pendence. Each section begins with a historical overview of the period, fol-
lowed by brief biographies and descriptions of significant individuals who 
"encountered" Maltese culture. At over 400 pages in length, the volume "is 
clearly not a full list of the numerous eminent and famous people who ever 
came into contact with the Maltese Islands and Maltese affairs" (13}--for exam-
ple, the book makes no mention of The Maltese Falcon novelist Dashiell Hammitt 
and the subsequent film starring Humphrey Bogart-yet the more than 240 
entries presented provide an excellent overview of the "lives and events of the 
travellers, scientists, politicians, writers, artists and others" (13) from Homer to 
Sir Tom Stoppard who experienced or shaped Maltese culture. 
The appendices include lists of foreign fiction influenced by or produced in 
Malta, and the names, dates, and nationalities of composers, opera singers, and 
painters who also contributed to the global recognition of Malta. A 24-page bib-
liography of mostly academic documents, an index of proper names, and eight 
brief curricula vitae for the main contributors completes the volume. Fully 
coloured images of portraits, maps, sketches, paintings, photographs, postcards 
and other artifacts - many of these visuals are rare - decorate and reinforce 
the content in ways that text alone could not. 
Occasional typographic flaws mar this work, such as mistyped letters and 
some missing prepositions, though these errors do not hamper the reader's 
comprehension. Otherwise, the writing is informative, entertaining, and suc-
cinct. Some scholars may be put off initially by the coffee-table book format. 
However, the format is a good marketing tool, allowing for a wider profiling of 
Maltese culture beyond the academy. Rest assured that the research is accurate 
and substantial. 
80 Reviews 
Maltese studies remains an under-represented field beyond the Maltese 
islands, especially in North America, despite Malta's long influence over other 
cultures. This scholarly but not pedantic encyclopedia will appeal to a wide 
audience and should arouse more curiosity about Malta, her culture, and the 
foreigners who put her on the map. Encounters with Malta is a successful intro-
duction to Maltese studies and is truly "a valuable tool for further research" 
(13). . 
Kevin Magri 
University of Waterloo 


Encounters with Malta. Eds. Petra Bianchi and Peter Serracino Inglott. Malta: Encounter Books, 2000

Grossmark, Tziona

'This may be Compared to an Athlete who was Wrestling with a Royal Prince', God and the Arena in Jewish Rabbinical Literature

Vásquez, Mary S.

The Poetics of Loss in Atonio Muñoz Molina's "!Oh tú que lo sabias!" from Sefarad

Manning, Sturt W.

Why Radiocarbon Dating 1200 BCE is Difficult: A Sidelight on Dating the End of the Late Bronze Age and the Contrarian Contribution

Ruiz, Pedro Guerrero

Percival, Anthony

Introduction: Alberti in the Centenary of His Birth

Not a member yet