Page 216 "...he asked Owen how he was dealing with the valium,..."

From page 216 of the book: "...He asked Owen how he was dealing with the valium, if there were any side effects. Was he feeling less anxious or more able to deal with his nerves on the whole? His bedside manner put Owen completely in his hands. He listened intently as Owen spoke freely about what he knew concerning benzodiazepines or anxiolytics like alprazolam, chlordiazepoxide, and diazepam."

Xanax

Schematic overview of the localization of 5-HT receptors on a hypothetical serotonergic neuron showing possible involvement of various receptors types in the mediation of anxiety and depression.



Schematic citation: F. Batool : Buspirone And Anxiety Disorders: A Review With Pharmacological And Clinical Perspectives. The Internet Journal of Pharmacology. 2008 Vol. V, No. 2

Page 218 "...Have you read Merton?" asked Dr. Fanon.




Thomas Merton (1915–1968) was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis. Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews, including his best-selling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, which sent scores of disillusioned World War II veterans, students, and even teen-agers flocking to monasteries across the U.S. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding.

From page 218 of the book:  "I loved the part where he changed Arthur's father into the shell of his enemy so he could make love to the queen, and so beget Arthur. The story has always been a favorite of mine. I always used to worry about Morgana; not the most trustworthy virago, but I suppose one needed all sorts of friends in those days."
     They each in turn shuffled their feet, comparable to the degree of embarrassment that trailed within them.
     "Merton," said Ebert, wrapping his arm around Revenant's shoulders and taking him away. "Not Merlin! They were talking about Thomas Merton."

Merlin and Morgana

(Nicol Williamson & Helen Mirren, "Excalibur")

Page 213 "...in walked Dr. Fanon, the Algerian physician..."

From page 213 of the book:  "...Then the front door opened again and in walked Dr. Fanon, the Algerian physician who saw to Owen's medical incident.

"I once knew a revolutionary  by that name," he said bloated.

"Same name, no relation," I replied...."



French psychiatrist and revolutionary writer, whose writings had profound influence on the radical movements in the 1960s in the United States and Europe. As a political thinker born in Martinique, Fanon's views gained audience in the Caribbean islands along with Aimé Césaire, Edouard Glissant, C.L.R. James, and Eric Williams.

[I chose the name Fanon because I mention postwar colonial France enough in relation to Father Revenant and, while doing some research, came across this interesting man of conscience.  What better man to model Owen's own doctor after?]

Page 209 "...in the hills of Brittany."

From page 209 of the book:  "...Their youth ended in 1939, when the seven were on a hike in the Hills of Brittany.   ...a jolt in the fault line, engendered by what no one could say, broke the sitting hill of sand and took Ebert's brother down with the ensuing collapse."  

and what made 1939 worse? A year later...

" ...he'd graduated in a Paris occupied by the Nazis."

Page 194 Addendum (Shanzenbach & Walter in the Cabro du Roi) Pertuis

L'avenue Jean-Moulin, Pertuis, France

The old clocktower, Pertuis



The Tower of St. Jacques, Pertuis



Church of St. Nicholas, Pertuis

"...Shanzenbach suggested that I have lunch with him at a palatial restaurant and botanical garden in Pertuis and discuss some business."  (p. 192)  "...Over discreet, mechanical sips from his glass the German gave me a verbal tour of the 14th-century St. Jacques Tower, the 13th-century clock tower, yet another castle, and finally the Church of St. Nicholas...." (p. 195)


Photos of Pertuis, 1-3, courtesy of filoer (www.flickr.com/photos/filoer/with/5387221829).
Photo 4, Church of St. Nicholas, courtesy of Communaute du Pays d'Aix.

Page 207 "...likened it to a book by Arnold Bennett called The Old Wives' Tale"

Clockwise from top left: A youngish Arnold Bennett; a cover for The Old Wives' Tale; an older Bennett; another cover for The Old Wives' Tale.

Arnold Bennett is a significant influence on my literary thought.  I read Margaret Drabble's biography of Bennett years ago and I highly recommend it, especially if you're a post-modern romantic like myself.  Bennett's novel "These Twain," which I read more than a decade ago, was great, and I'm looking forward to reading "Clayhanger."  I'm reading that trilogy out of order but, honestly I can manage it.  "Riceyman Steps" was a profound book for me back in 2004, I can't tell you.

The Old Wives' Tale, when I read it many years ago, was a new style for me to get used to; and it wasn't the same for his later novels.  However, the portions of the book dealing with the Siege of Paris were intense.  I think I had just recently read Henri Barbusse's "Under Fire", so the two together gave me a horrendous picture of the stupidity of the French military and the indescribable daily horrors of World War I, which I was to read more about vis-a-vis Martin Gilbert and John Keegan and others.

Hence my inclusion of the following images about the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71:

Two French children killed during the Prussian bombardment of Paris.



A Paris street scene showing the sale of rats, because food was so scarce during the Siege.



French battery station.

Painting of a soup kitchen in a Paris neighborhood during the Siege. It was a common occurrence.

 




From page 207-208 of the book:  "...I thought about Sarah's day with Mme. Cendre and likened it to a book by Arnold Bennett called The Old Wives Tale: where Mme. Cendre could easily have been the character Sophia Baines, who leaves England and elopes to Paris at the horror of her parents.  She is deserted by her husband, buys a boarding house, and struggles to stay alive during the Franco-Prussian War."

Page 194 "...Shanzenbach and I arrived at the Cabro du Roi..."



Although this is not actually the Cabro du Roi (because I made up the restaurant),
it does have everything I was imagining for the scene in which Shanzenbach
seduces Walter.  The bottom left photo is one of many lovely neighborhoods
in Pertuis.



From page 194 of the book:  "...When Shanzenbach and I arrived at the entrance to the Cabro du Roi, or in English, 'the King's Goat,' the chauffeur promptly ejected himself from the car and helped the old man out."