The Journeyer
Encyclopedia
The Journeyer is a historical novel
about Marco Polo
, written by Gary Jennings
and first published in 1984.
. Unsupervised, he freely roams the streets and canals of the city getting in trouble. When he is falsely accused of murdering the husband of his lover, he is exiled from Venice and travels east with his father and uncle to the court of Kubilai Khan, Mongol emperor of the orient. Marco remains in the empire for nearly twenty years and returns home as a wealthy man. His adventures become legendary.
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
about Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
, written by Gary Jennings
Gary Jennings
Gary Jennings was an American author who wrote children's and adult novels. In 1980, after the successful novel Aztec, he specialized in writing adult historical fiction novels.-Biography:...
and first published in 1984.
Plot introduction
Marco is the only heir to the wealthy Polo family of VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Unsupervised, he freely roams the streets and canals of the city getting in trouble. When he is falsely accused of murdering the husband of his lover, he is exiled from Venice and travels east with his father and uncle to the court of Kubilai Khan, Mongol emperor of the orient. Marco remains in the empire for nearly twenty years and returns home as a wealthy man. His adventures become legendary.
Characters
- Marco PoloMarco PoloMarco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
– protagonist and narrator: a VenetianVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
merchant who travels east to ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and becomes a courtier in the Mongol court of Kubilai Khan. - Nicolò PoloNiccolò and Maffeo PoloNiccolò and Maffeo Polo were the father and uncle respectively of Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer. Before the birth of Marco, the two became merchants, and established trading posts in Constantinople, Sudak in the Crimea, and in a western part of the Mongol Empire...
– Marco’s father. He loves to speak in parables. - Mafìo Polo – Marco’s uncle. Marco learns of his uncle’s homosexualityHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and is disgusted by it. Mafìo shares a potion with his lover Achmed and goes mad as a result. He spends the rest of his life an invalid. - Kubilai Khan – The Khan of all Khans. He admires the HanHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
culture. Soon after the Polos arrive in his capital, Kubilai takes a liking to young Marco and shows him favor. - Nostril – Marco’s slave bought for him by his father to keep an eye on Marco while the elder Polos left him behind in Baghdad. Nostril is a SindSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and has had many other names such as SindbadSinbad the SailorSinbad the Sailor is a fictional sailor from Basrah, living during the Abbasid Caliphate – the hero of a story-cycle of Middle Eastern origin...
, Ali BabaAli BabaAli Baba is a fictional character from medieval Arabic literature. He is described in the adventure tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves...
r and Ali-ad-DinAladdinAladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
. He is later given his freedom by Marco and marries the former TurkiTurkiThe Turki language is a Türkic literary language active from the 13th to the 19th centuries, used by different Türkic peoples...
princess Mar-Janar. - Hui-Sheng – "Echo" Marco Polo's Min lover and consort. She is a deaf-mute who dies in childbirth.
- Doris – one of the “boat children,” the poor orphans of the Venice docks. Marco befriends Doris and her brother Ubaldo. Before he leaves for his journey, Marco and Doris make love. Marco later marries her daughter who is half his age.
- Princess Moth – The Crown Princess or Shahzrad Magas, daughter of Shahinshah Zaman and Shahryar ZahdScheherazadeScheherazade , sometimes Scheherazadea, Persian transliteration Shahrazad or Shahrzād is a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.-Narration :...
of Baghdad. She introduces Marco to many of the Persian pleasures of the bedroom. - Mordecai Cartafilo – A Jewish merchant of Venice; he meets Marco in prison and escapes with Marco’s help. For that good deed (mitzvahMitzvahThe primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
), Marco receives help from other Jewish people all throughout his travels. The text hints heavily that these men, who all have a similar appearance, are Tzadikim NistarimTzadikim NistarimThe Tzadikim Nistarim or Lamed Vav Tzadikim , often abbreviated to Lamed Vav, refers to 36 Righteous people, a notion rooted within the more mystical dimensions of Judaism. The singular form is Tzadik Nistar .-Origins:...
.
Release details
- 1984, USA, Atheneum BooksAtheneum BooksAtheneum Books was a publishing house and adult publisher created by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. in 1959. He recruited editor Jean E. Karl personally, to come and establish a Children's Book Department in 1961....
(ISBN 978-0689114038 - 1984, UK, HutchinsonHutchinson (publisher)Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
(ISBN 978-0091586508) - 2006, USA, Forge Books/Tom Doherty Associates (ISBN 978-0765349644)
See also
- Historical fictionHistorical fictionHistorical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
- List of historical novelists
- List of historical novels