Dunsany on “The Queen’s Enemies”

While researching Queen Nitocris for the Encyclopedia, I chanced across this letter from Dunsany in the newly public New York Times archives that discusses his play, “The Queen’s Enemies.”  This later went on to inspire Lovecraft’s own depiction of Nitocris in such stories as “Under the Pyramids” (”Imprisoned with the Pharaohs”, for those of you not up on such things).  Here we can read about Dunsany’s painstaking research into Nitocris for the play:

It was not only easier but more amusing to imagine her character and all the names of her enemies than to be bothered with reading about her.

Nonetheless, it’s a fun play.  It seems Dunsany is responding to queries from an admirer, as he adds the following:

If there is a moral in the play I trust that neither you nor any other lady who has had anything to do with the play will ‘profit by’ the moral, for I do not consider it at all right to give a dinner party and drown your guests.

I think Dunsany is being overly judgmental here.  I really don’t mind if you drown your enemies at a banquet, so long as they deserve it and I’m not on the guest list.

(As a side note, I’ve also been informed that Queen Nitocris has been found to be a scribal error and never existed.  Fascinating little stuff like that keeps cropping up.)

~ by danharms on November 20, 2007.