I was looking through our attic last year and I found a series of letters from a W. Shakespeare to a J. Montague upon his deathbed in 1591; a death certificate for an R. Montague dated November 24, 1562; and, finally, a weathered old book. It was titled Verona 1503. Curiously, I opened the crackling spine to the first battered page. There in old-fashioned calligraphy, and barely legible was a note from a past ancestor of mine.
The first page read:
“I was sixteen in Italy during the year 1503. I lived in Verona, near my cousin Juliet, and I struggled with love, danger, and death that entire year. My hope remains, that my cousin’s story will have been published and shown to the world by now. I do believe that by this time the world will be ready for the second half of her tale. I pray that the world will be ready for my story. —Rosaline Montague 1543”
Stuffed in front of the first page was a piece of paper with the same illegible handwriting. It was a letter.
“My Darling Son, James, October 12, 1562
I have left this manuscript in your hands in hopes that you will forsake the foolish notion that only men can be educated novelists. I beg of you to bring your family histories to some person and have them tell the world of the tragedy of your cousins. If you survive, I pray that after the publication of your cousin, Juliet’s, story, you attempt to find a publisher for this novel. I lay all my hopes in you as I lay on my deathbed. I beg of you not to fail me.
Sincerely,
Your Loving Mother”
Intrigued, I spent the next year deciphering and translating Rosaline’s novel.
Here the book is in full, already translated into the equivalent of modern English from the Shakespearian style of the early 1500s. My foremother's novel lies before those who wish to grab an inside peak into her world, and her story is there to fascinate all those who wish to visit the city of Verona.
YOU ARE READING
Verona
FanfictionAll Rosaline Capulet has ever wanted was to find true love in Verona, Italy, but when you're a part of the the high societal class of 16th century nobles, that feat is nearly impossible. And it gets harder when your mother keeps trying to set you up...
