The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse Assembles Fictional and Real Characters

Summary: The Map of Bones, as fourth book in the Joubert Trilogy by non-fiction, novel, short-story writer Kate Mosse, assembles fictional and real characters.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

Fictitious Suzanne Joubert alludes to the Lantern Tower (from French la tour de la Lanterne, “the tower of the lantern”) even as she ambles toward the Old Port (from French le Vieux Port, “the old harbor“) with Grandmother Florence Reydon-Joubert Amiel from their family address on Rue des Gentilshommes (from French rue des gentilshommes, “street of the gentlemen”). The Lantern Tower, from the year 1209, appears leftward in the above image even as the Chain Tower (from French la tour de la Chaîne, “the tower of the chain”) appears center-ward and the Saint Nicolas Tower (from French la tour de Saint-Nicolas, “the tower of Saint Nicolas”) appears rightward, the latter two both from the year 1384; "La Rochelle, les trois tours de Vieux-Port, France," image by Romero Schmidtke, "recadrage et retouche par Gilbertus": Romero Schmidtke, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Map of Bones, fourth book in the Joubert Trilogy, by essay, ghost-story, non-fiction, novel, play, short-story writer Kate Mosse, assembles fictional and real characters whom African ambiances assimilate from 1688 onward.

The novel Prologue begins in 1687 with the fictitious 19-year-old Suzanne Joubert in her family house with fictionalized real dragonnades (from French dragon -ade, “dragoon people”). Suzanne and Grandmother Florence Reydon-Joubert, the latter the bride of Amiel and the daughter of Jean-Jacques Joubert, the latter uncle of Louise Reydon-Joubert, call France home. They depart by fishing boat from La Rochelle to Île de Ré (from French la roche -elle, “the rock little”; île de ré, “island of king”).

Granddaughter and grandmother escaping from anti-Huguenot (from German Eid Genosse, “oath companion” via French eiguenot, “Swiss confederate [soldier]”) dragoons then entails a ship embarking for Nantes.

From the Atlantic-coastal city Nantes (from Gaulish nant, “river, stream” via Greek Ναμνιτῶν via Latin Namnetes) Florence and Suzanne follow overland routes to Chartres and Reims.

Chartres and Reims (from Celtic/Gaulish carn auten, “stone sword” via Latin Carnūtēs; Gaulish for “chieftains, first ones” via Latin Rēmī) gain granddaughter and grandmother Spanish Netherlands. The van Raay residence of Warmoesstraat (from Dutch raden, to “guess” via van raai, “of guess”; warmoes straat, “chard street”) houses them in the Netherlandish city Amsterdam. The Amsterdam (from Dutch ame stelle dam, “water place, position dam”) inhabitation invokes the prison diary of Suzanne’s cousin, wine businesswoman and trading-ship owner Louise Reydon-Joubert.

Kate Mosse journeys Florence and Suzanne, joining fictitiously fictional and real characters in The Map of Bones, to real junctions and junctures in fictional Louise’s life.

Her prison diary keepsakes Louise as businesswoman, homeowner and pirate she-captain of the fluyt (from Occitan flaut, “flute” via French fleute via Dutch floite, “cargo ship”).

Cousin Louise leaves the Netherlands (from Dutch neder land, “low country”) in her trading ship Old Moon for Gran Canaria (from Spanish gran canaria, “great canary”). The Old Moon made it from Gran Canaria in October 1621 to Table Bay off the Cape of Good Hope in southwestern-most Africa within seven months. Gilles Barenton, as her friend and possibly her husband, and Phillipe Vidal, as her half-brother, numbered among those aboard the cargo, trading ship named Old Moon.

Kate Mosse offers us, in The Map of Bones, fictional and real characters, among whom fictitious Barenton, Reydon-Joubert and Vidal orient us to South African occurrences.

No one perceives Gilles Barenton (from Greek αἰγίς, “goatskin” via Latin aegis, “shield” via Aegīdius; Breton birvin andon, “boil source”) after his peregrinating to Table Bay.

Nobody, nothing, nowhere queues Phillipe Vidal (from Greek φιλέω ἵππος, "I love horse" via Φίλιππος; Latin vīta‎ -ālis, “life pertaining”) once its anchor quits Old-Moon quarters. Cousin Louise Reydon-Joubert (from Frankish hlūd wīg, “famous, loud battle”; English rey don, “rye hill”; Germanic gaut berth, “to pour bright”) requires Old Moon’s Amsterdam return. She sends her diary, by the English first lieutenant who sails her ship home, to Aunt Alis (from Germanic adal heit, “noble nature”) in van Raay.

Ninety-plus-year-old Florence and 20-, 21-year-old Suzanne, in The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse, track cousin Louise on the Cape of Good Hope 65 years later.

Fictitious Suzanne Joubert and her fictitious grandmother, Florence Reydon-Joubert Amiel, appreciate the gracious ambiances of fictitious cousin Louise Reydon-Joubert’s ample residences on Rue des Gentilshommes of La Rochelle (from rue des gentilshommes, “street of the gentlemen”; French la roche -elle, “the rock little”), France and of Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands (from Dutch warmoes straat, “chard street”; ame stelle dam, “water position dam”; neder land, “low country”). The exterior appearance of the fictitious van Raay (from Dutch raden, to “guess” via van raai, “of guess”) residence in the latter real area perhaps appears like that of the real Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam of Adolph Wilhelm Krasnapolsky (from Russian красная поляна, “red meadow”; May 24, 1834-Apr 22, 1912), oldest residential Warmoesstraat architecture with wood assemblage from 1485; "Krasnapolsky in de Warmoesstraat te Amsterdam, naar een teekening van L. W. R. Wenckebach," Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, 1906 drawing by was a Dutch book cover designer, graphic artist, illustrator and painter Ludwig Willem Reymert "L. W. R." Wenckebach (Jan. 12, 1860-June 25, 1937), Collectie Stadsarchief Amsterdam: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Dedication

This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.

Image credits:

Fictitious Suzanne Joubert alludes to the Lantern Tower (from French la tour de la Lanterne, “the tower of the lantern”) even as she ambles toward the Old Port (from French le Vieux Port, “the old harbor“) with Grandmother Florence Reydon-Joubert Amiel from their family address on Rue des Gentilshommes (from French rue des gentilshommes, “street of the gentlemen”). The Lantern Tower, from the year 1209, appears leftward in the above image even as the Chain Tower (from French la tour de la Chaîne, “the tower of the chain”) appears center-ward and the Saint Nicolas Tower (from French la tour de Saint-Nicolas, “the tower of Saint Nicolas”) appears rightward, the latter two both from the year 1384; "La Rochelle, les trois tours de Vieux-Port, France," image by Romero Schmidtke, "recadrage et retouche par Gilbertus": Romero Schmidtke, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Rochelle-TroisTours.jpg

Fictitious Suzanne Joubert and her fictitious grandmother, Florence Reydon-Joubert Amiel, appreciate the gracious ambiances of fictitious cousin Louise Reydon-Joubert’s ample residences on Rue des Gentilshommes of La Rochelle (from rue des gentilshommes, “street of the gentlemen”; French la roche -elle, “the rock little”), France and of Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands (from Dutch warmoes straat, “chard street”; ame stelle dam, “water position dam”; neder land, “low country”). The exterior appearance of the fictitious van Raay (from Dutch raden, to “guess” via van raai, “of guess”) residence in the latter real area perhaps appears like that of the real Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam of Adolph Wilhelm Krasnapolsky (from Russian красная поляна, “red meadow”; May 24, 1834-Apr 22, 1912), oldest residential Warmoesstraat architecture with wood assemblage from 1485; "Krasnapolsky in de Warmoesstraat te Amsterdam, naar een teekening van L. W. R. Wenckebach," Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, 1906 drawing by was a Dutch book cover designer, graphic artist, illustrator and painter Ludwig Willem Reymert "L. W. R." Wenckebach (Jan. 12, 1860-June 25, 1937), Collectie Stadsarchief Amsterdam: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ludwig_Willem_Reymert_Wenckebach,_Afb_010194000652.jpg

For further information:

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Marriner, Derdriu. 26 April 2024. "Labyrinth by Kate Mosse Acquaints Us With Fictitious and Real People." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-by-kate-mosse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 March 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse Airs Birds and Butterflies." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse_24.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse_17.html

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