"Men Call Me a Fool"

This article provides a short review of Dan Totheroh’s historical novel “Men Call me Fool”, published by Selwyn and Blount in 1929. Set in fourteenth-century France at the court of King Francis I, the plot centres on a professional fool and a youthful duchess who falls in love with him. Although professional fools were common in medieval courtly circles, the reviewer tells the reader, “mostly they were hunchbacks or deformed, but this one was an Adonis”, and also a troubadour. Summing up, the reviewer concludes that “There is a good deal of the atmosphere of the times and much that is realistic in the lives of these professional fools” and “the characterisation of the sensual king and his nobles is convincing”.

Digitised Newspaper Article. National Library of Australia, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58388271