GORDON, Alan R.

PERSONAL: Married Judy Downer; children: Robert. Education: University of Chicago, J.D., 1984.

ADDRESSES: Home—Queens, NY. Office—Legal Aid Society, 199 Water St., New York, NY 10038. Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Legal Aid Society, New York, NY, attorney.

WRITINGS:

"FOOLS' GUILD" MYSTERIES

Thirteenth Night, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 1999 2000.

Jester Leaps In, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2000.

A Death in the Venetian Quarter, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2002.

The Widow of Jerusalem, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2003.

An Antic Disposition, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

SIDELIGHTS: Alan R. Gordon has created a unique mystery series with his "Fools' Guild" books, set in medieval times and featuring a jester's group that functions at high levels of intrigue across England and Europe. The first book in the series is Thirteenth Night, a reference to William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. In this novel, Shakespeare's drama is based on real-life events orchestrated by Feste, one of the members of the Fools' Guild. Feste is called upon fifteen years later to investigate the cause of the duke of Orsino's death, and he must hide his identity from Malvolio, who has vowed revenge for the humiliation he suffered at Feste's hands years earlier. Thirteenth Night is "riveting," according to BookBrowser.com reviewer Harriet Klausner, and it "brings to life Medieval England in a manner that would make Shakespeare proud." Jeri Wright, a reviewer for Mystery Reader Online, found the most "fascinating" part of Gordon's book to be the invention of the Fools' Guild, which is allied with the church, spread throughout the known world, and instrumental in pulling strings behind the scenes at the highest levels of society and government. David Pitt concluded in Booklist: "On every level—characters, plot, and style, in addition to premise—this is an outstanding first mystery."

In Jester Leaps In the fool named Theophilos has just married a woman named Viola, who is his apprentice as well as his wife. When six members of the Fools' Guild go missing, Theo is sent, with his bride, to Constantinople to try to find out what has happened to them, as well as to see if any other intrigue is brewing in the Byzantine empire. When the pair reaches Constantinople, they find that just staying alive is a challenge, as they seek their fellow fools. According to Jennifer Monahan Winberry in Mystery Reader Online, the plot of this book is secondary to its setting. "Jester Leaps In is a very dense Medieval mystery," she noted. "It is a very researched, detailed mystery. Those with a keen interest in this time period will enjoy the book the most." Booklist contributor David Pitt praised the author's firm grasp of the historical period, noting that Gordon puts "an immense amount of detail into his novels without making readers feel like they are being educated."

The Fools' Guild takes part in the Crusades in The Widow of Jerusalem, a novel, narrated by Theophilos. In An Antic Disposition the fools must hide out from the murderous army of Pope Innocent III. While they hide, Theophilos provides entertainment by recounting the story of his teacher, Terrence of York. Terrence's tale is Gordon's "delightful and original spin" on Shakespeare's Hamlet, according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who praised Gordon for his success in working with Shakespeare's material and producing "a riveting tale of ambition, subterfuge, betrayal and revenge." An Antic Disposition was also recommended by Barbara Bibel, who wrote in Booklist that "Meticulous period detail mixed with adventure makes this an excellent read."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1999, David Pitt, review of Thirteenth Night, p. 837; October 1, 2000, David Pitt, review of Jester Leaps In, p. 326; January 1, 2002, David Pitt, review of A Death in the Venetian Quarter, p. 818; January 1, 2004, Barbara Bibel, review of An Antic Disposition, p. 832.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of A Death in the Venetian Quarter, p. 1724; January 1, 2003, review of The Widow of Jerusalem, p. 29.

Library Journal, January, 1999, Rex E. Klett, review of Thirteenth Night, p. 163; November 1, 2000, Rex E. Klett, review of Jester Leaps In, p. 142; February 1, 2003, review of The Widow of Jerusalem, p. 122.

Publishers Weekly, December 14, 1998, review of Thirteenth Night, p. 60; October 16, 2000, review of Jester Leaps In, p. 52; February 18, 2002, review of A Death in the Venetian Quarter, p. 79; January 13, 2003, review of The Widow of Jerusalem, p. 44; December 22, 2003, review of An Antic Disposition, p. 41.

ONLINE

BookBrowser.com, http://www.bookbrowser.com/ (December 25, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Thirteenth Night; Alan R. Gordon, review of Jester Leaps In.

Fiction Readers' Advisory Reviews Online, http://www.noblenet.org/ (April 8, 2005), Gray Coughenour Sawyer, review of Thirteenth Night.

Mystery Reader Online, http://www.themysteryreader.com/ (April 8, 2005), Jennifer Monahan Winberry, review of Jester Leaps In, and Jeri Wright, review of Thirteenth Night.