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Three years to play
In this new novel - his last was the highly praised Westward to Laughter - Colin MacInnes does for the London of Elizabeth I what he did for the London of Elizabeth II in Absolute Beginners. That is to to say, he fabricates a memorable city - dangerous, colorful, and lewd - and peoples it with a band of vivid men and women whose lives we follow with the most pleasurable attention.
The time is 1598 to 1600. Country-born Aubrey, son of a bawd, comes to the city to find his fortune and gets entangled in the power battle between two murderous underworld gangs, headed by cutthroat whore-masters known as the Venice Doge and the Genoa Doge. The stews of London suffer a purge by the state, however, and one of the gangs is forced to seek refuge in Epping Forest, the scene of Aubrey's boyhood. There occur a series of events that stir the imagination of the rising dramatist of the age, William Shakespeare, and provide the Globe Theatre with one of its most successful plays.
The time is 1598 to 1600. Country-born Aubrey, son of a bawd, comes to the city to find his fortune and gets entangled in the power battle between two murderous underworld gangs, headed by cutthroat whore-masters known as the Venice Doge and the Genoa Doge. The stews of London suffer a purge by the state, however, and one of the gangs is forced to seek refuge in Epping Forest, the scene of Aubrey's boyhood. There occur a series of events that stir the imagination of the rising dramatist of the age, William Shakespeare, and provide the Globe Theatre with one of its most successful plays.
365 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
70 people want to read
About the author
Colin MacInnes
26 books43 followersMacInnes was born in London, the son of singer James Campbell MacInnes and novelist Angela Thirkell, and was educated in Australia. He served in the British intelligence corps during World War II.
He was the author of a number of books depicting London youth and black immigrant culture during the 1950s, in particular City of Spades (1957), Absolute Beginners (1959) and Mr. Love and Justice (1960).
He was the author of a number of books depicting London youth and black immigrant culture during the 1950s, in particular City of Spades (1957), Absolute Beginners (1959) and Mr. Love and Justice (1960).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 23, 2022
Aubrey - country-born, smart-mouthed, and 15 years of age - makes his way from the backwoods of Epping Forest to Londontown in 1598. There he will fulfill his rather less than glorious destiny: he shall briefly become a "pander" - those honey-tongued serpents who lure naive country lasses into brothel work; he shall toil for two criminal houses - led by rival brothers; he shall marry and have a son with a fellow member of the criminal underclass - the redoubtable, sensible Jenny; he shall be a messenger for secretive religious fanatics - a lucrative albeit dangerous venture; and he shall befriend Shakespeare - and so develop a love for the theater, despite Jenny's objections that such things are for boys. All of this shall come to pass before he reaches 18.
Three Years To Play was a marvelous adventure and slice of life, warts and all. I doubt that most novels featuring a frank detailing of the life of a pander in the slums of London would ever be described as pleasant. And yet very pleasant it was. Breezy and merry, openhearted, and generous in its characterization, while never turning a blind eye to the dirtiness and deadliness of its time period... the book was a delight from start to finish. Aubrey and London during the turn of the 16th century really came alive. The book was a rich experience, and a sweet one, so I prolonged my reading of it for as long as possible. It is a book in love with living, and so I fell in love with it as well. The melancholy ending - mournful for those that have passed, and for the passing of time itself - was the bittersweet cherry on top. It is a new favorite and one of the very best books I've read all year.
I've been waiting for this book for a long while. Colin MacInnes' most famous book, Absolute Beginners, is an absolute favorite. Over the years I've been working my way through his titles, hoping to recapture that magic. My time in his oeuvre has been a mixed but mainly pleasant one, but it wasn't until Three Years to Play that I felt that same feeling: I was again reading a vibrant, charming, utterly realistic yet surprisingly hopeful story of a young person finding himself, reveling in the strange wonders of a new life in the big city, discovering the world's harsh realities, embracing difference, looking for adventure (and cash, and love), and always moving forward. I laughed a lot while Aubrey learned a lot; I shed tears in the end alongside him.
A few things that made the experience all the better: first, the bisexual MacInnes' inclusion of perhaps stereotypical queer characters who rise well above stereotype in the depth of their characterization; second, the slowly dawning realization that the plot of the story parallels one of Shakespeare's more famous comedies; third, the language. I can't oversell that third point because it really made the book a unique experience for me. Three Years To Play is written in the language of its time. I've read many of Shakespeare's plays, so I'm familiar with that language, but this is my first time seeing it so completely and successfully accomplished within a novel's format. This is a first person narrative so it is beyond the dialogue: Aubrey thinks in this language as well. The time MacInnes must have spent on perfecting this work blows my mind. Each sentence, each paragraph was worth savoring. As was the entire book!
Three Years To Play was a marvelous adventure and slice of life, warts and all. I doubt that most novels featuring a frank detailing of the life of a pander in the slums of London would ever be described as pleasant. And yet very pleasant it was. Breezy and merry, openhearted, and generous in its characterization, while never turning a blind eye to the dirtiness and deadliness of its time period... the book was a delight from start to finish. Aubrey and London during the turn of the 16th century really came alive. The book was a rich experience, and a sweet one, so I prolonged my reading of it for as long as possible. It is a book in love with living, and so I fell in love with it as well. The melancholy ending - mournful for those that have passed, and for the passing of time itself - was the bittersweet cherry on top. It is a new favorite and one of the very best books I've read all year.
I've been waiting for this book for a long while. Colin MacInnes' most famous book, Absolute Beginners, is an absolute favorite. Over the years I've been working my way through his titles, hoping to recapture that magic. My time in his oeuvre has been a mixed but mainly pleasant one, but it wasn't until Three Years to Play that I felt that same feeling: I was again reading a vibrant, charming, utterly realistic yet surprisingly hopeful story of a young person finding himself, reveling in the strange wonders of a new life in the big city, discovering the world's harsh realities, embracing difference, looking for adventure (and cash, and love), and always moving forward. I laughed a lot while Aubrey learned a lot; I shed tears in the end alongside him.
A few things that made the experience all the better: first, the bisexual MacInnes' inclusion of perhaps stereotypical queer characters who rise well above stereotype in the depth of their characterization; second, the slowly dawning realization that the plot of the story parallels one of Shakespeare's more famous comedies; third, the language. I can't oversell that third point because it really made the book a unique experience for me. Three Years To Play is written in the language of its time. I've read many of Shakespeare's plays, so I'm familiar with that language, but this is my first time seeing it so completely and successfully accomplished within a novel's format. This is a first person narrative so it is beyond the dialogue: Aubrey thinks in this language as well. The time MacInnes must have spent on perfecting this work blows my mind. Each sentence, each paragraph was worth savoring. As was the entire book!
October 10, 2021
The Elizabethan language is ingenious, but often a barrier. Hard to get involved with these colourful characters through the archaic, arch, style.
January 13, 2008
Prostitute's only son leaves the forest where his mother raised him and heads to London. There he meets whores, tricksters, thieves and conmen and falls in with a troupe of actors and players led by Wm. Shakespeare.
Very good book. If you know your Shakespeare (including the sonnets) you'll find this delightful. A much better story about London at the time of the Bard than Shakespeare in Love.
Very good book. If you know your Shakespeare (including the sonnets) you'll find this delightful. A much better story about London at the time of the Bard than Shakespeare in Love.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews