tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21432259.post7738407612660822565..comments2023-09-07T18:57:41.344+01:00Comments on Early Modern Whale: The Return of William Harrison (Part II)DrRoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01351695058512676554noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21432259.post-73068725027015699382007-07-16T12:04:00.000+01:002007-07-16T12:04:00.000+01:00This case, as the pamphleteers say, was seen as re...This case, as the pamphleteers say, was seen as remarkable. The nearest I can come up with is George Lillo's play, 'Fatal Curiosity' (1736, I think probably based on some kind of broadsheet ballad source, I do not recall if there was a real case underlying it). Here the son returns home after long travels, unrecognised, with lots of money. His impoverished parents murder the wealthy traveller; his 'fatal curiosity' was in delaying his announcement of who he really is overnight. (He wanted the joyful surprise to be bigger, you see.)<BR/>There is a big returned-traveller genre of ballads and plays. If you went to sea, you might be away years, and be assumed dead, so you might return to find many changes. These are usually marital stories: 'A cure for a cuckold' is one such play.DrRoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01351695058512676554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21432259.post-49709910566214286192007-07-16T11:41:00.000+01:002007-07-16T11:41:00.000+01:00Thank you for commenting! My next task is certainl...Thank you for commenting! My next task is certainly catching up on the pile of reading I have yet to do! <BR/><BR/>Are there any other cases you know of that also have a disappearance seen as murder element to them? It would be curious to compare any other examples with this mystery to see how much reality is contained in this type of account.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03250502881868435459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21432259.post-53313132705120434342007-07-14T11:34:00.000+01:002007-07-14T11:34:00.000+01:00Fascinating topic, although I know little about th...Fascinating topic, although I know little about this area - I will certainly look into it further. I presume such cases (i.e. disappearance seen as murder) was not unheard of? <BR/><BR/>Just in case you hadn't noticed, you were mentioned on the last Early Modern Carnavalesque:<BR/><BR/>http://branemrys.blogspot.com/2007/04/carnivalesque-xxvi-very-carnivalesque.htmlSceopellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18427952950138782901noreply@blogger.com