Cue for Treason
Encyclopedia
Cue for Treason is a children's historical novel
written by Geoffrey Trease
, and is his best known work.
, at first on the road and later in London
, where they are befriended by William Shakespeare
. They become aware of a plot against Queen Elizabeth's
life and attempt to prevent it.
in the north of England, is involved in a secret night protest against the theft of his village's farmland
by Sir Philip Morton. He leaves his village to escape prosecution for throwing a rock at Sir Philip Morton. He first goes to Penrith
, but unexpectedly encounters Sir Philip at a performance of Richard III
by a touring playing company
. He hides from him in a prop coffin (supposed to contain the body of King Henry VI
) which is later carried on to the company's cart.
The players discover Peter hiding and the kindly Desmonds, who run the playing company, take him on as a boy actor. Another boy, Kit Kirkstone, also joins the company.
Kit proves excellent at playing female roles while Peter acts as an understudy. After Peter's jealousy leads to a fight, he discovers Kit's secret. Kit is actually a girl in disguise, really called Katharine Russell, who is running away to avoid a forced marriage to Sir Philip, who is only interested in her inheritance.
The company breaks up and the Desmonds promise to take Peter and Kit to a London
theatre company. When Mr. Desmond breaks his leg in a river accident, the youngsters go on ahead. After being initially turned away by Richard Burbage
of the Lord Chamberlain's Men
, they are accepted as apprentices by the playwright William Shakespeare
, who recognises Kit's acting ability and Peter's gift of mimicry. They perform in various plays and see Sir Philip in the audience during Romeo and Juliet
.
Peter's copy of Shakespeare's new play Henry V
is stolen by the "Yellow Gentleman", and Kit and Peter worry that he plans to profit from the unpublished play. While stealing back the script, Peter overhears a plot by Sir Philip and his associates to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. He also notices an odd poem written on the script, and some words underlined that he has no idea what they mean but has a funny feeling about them.
After meeting the head of the Queen's Secret Service, Kit and Peter travel back to Peter's village in disguise with one of the Queen's spies, Tom Boyd, to follow a clue which leads to Sir Philip's peel tower
. Tom is killed by the conspirators. Peter is captured but not before learning that John Somers, an actor in their company, is to shoot the Queen during the first performance of Henry V. This is part of a wider conspiracy to install a new regime in England, the rest of it is vague but they are evidently in league with Spain. He is taken for questioning to a deserted Ullswater
islet but manages to knock out the guard. He swims to the mainland and narrowly escapes across the fell
s.
Kit and Peter go to a local magistrate, but discover he is a part of the treasonous plan. They steal his horses, which are of exceptional quality, intending to ride to London to warn the Queen. Sir Philip and his associates give chase. On the road they meet Desmond and the rest of the company who are rehearsing Edward II
. On hearing of the conspiracy, Desmond vows to stop Sir Philip.
The actors dress up in their soldier costumes and rig the horses to sound like an army ready to attack, with trumpets and drums behind. Kit and Peter pretend to be captives so Sir Philip will dismount, and he and his followers are then taken into custody by Desmond's men. Kit and Peter make a desperate dash back to London, and John Somers is captured by guards moments before he can shoot. Kit and Peter meet the Queen and tell her their adventures.
In the last paragraph, Peter finishes writing the story and we learn that he and Kit are now married with children and living in a lakeside house in Cumberland.
Historical characters
and Comrades for the Charter, where he showed a strong streak of political radicalism.
However, Cue for Treason was written fairly early in his writing career, and was in a sense his definitive work. As well as being his best known, it has been described as creating the template on which he wrote many of his later novels. In particular, he has as his central character an adolescent male, who meets an adolescent female who proves a strong character in her own right. He also employs some plot device
s which he sometimes used in his later works e.g. the heroine spends a large part of the story disguised as a boy, and in order to advance the plot the hero happens to overhear the villains talking. However, although in this case the hero and heroine marry at the end, he avoids this obvious ending in some of his later novels (e.g. The Hills of Varna
, which otherwise shows some similarity to Cue for Treason).
The novel is marked by a strong sense of place, particularly showing Trease's love of the Lake District
, where he also set his Bannerdale stories, including No Boats on Bannermere
.
The politics of the Elizabethan era are mentioned in the novel: social concerns over enclosures and unemployment, and the state matters of rebellion and invasion. Forced marriage
and the exclusion of women from the drama are touched upon. The values of patriotism, loyalty and independence are stressed. The motives of the conspirators are not examined, being assumed to be simply wealth and power; although historically religion would have been a factor, this is not mentioned beyond a casual reference to "old ways".
The English Renaissance theatre
is represented by its two extremes: a poor temporary company which tours around England, and the Lord Chamberlain's Men who perform for the Queen and her court.
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...
written by Geoffrey Trease
Geoffrey Trease
Geoffrey Trease was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 and 1997 . His work has been translated into 20 languages...
, and is his best known work.
Plot introduction
The novel is set in Elizabethan England at the end of the 16th century. Two young runaways become boy actorsBoy player
Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by Medieval and English Renaissance playing companies. Some boy players worked for the mainstream companies and performed the female roles, as women did not perform on the English stage in this period...
, at first on the road and later in London
Tudor London
Henry Tudor, who seized the English throne as Henry VII in 1485, and married Elizabeth of York, thus putting an end to the Wars of the Roses, was a resolute and efficient monarch that centralised political power on the crown...
, where they are befriended by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. They become aware of a plot against Queen Elizabeth's
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
life and attempt to prevent it.
Plot summary
Peter Brownrigg, a 14-year-old boy who lives in CumberlandCumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
in the north of England, is involved in a secret night protest against the theft of his village's farmland
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
by Sir Philip Morton. He leaves his village to escape prosecution for throwing a rock at Sir Philip Morton. He first goes to Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
, but unexpectedly encounters Sir Philip at a performance of Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
by a touring playing company
Playing company
In Renaissance London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organized around a group of ten or so shareholders , who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. The sharers employed "hired men" — that is, the minor actors and...
. He hides from him in a prop coffin (supposed to contain the body of King Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
) which is later carried on to the company's cart.
The players discover Peter hiding and the kindly Desmonds, who run the playing company, take him on as a boy actor. Another boy, Kit Kirkstone, also joins the company.
Kit proves excellent at playing female roles while Peter acts as an understudy. After Peter's jealousy leads to a fight, he discovers Kit's secret. Kit is actually a girl in disguise, really called Katharine Russell, who is running away to avoid a forced marriage to Sir Philip, who is only interested in her inheritance.
The company breaks up and the Desmonds promise to take Peter and Kit to a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
theatre company. When Mr. Desmond breaks his leg in a river accident, the youngsters go on ahead. After being initially turned away by Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
of the Lord Chamberlain's Men
Lord Chamberlain's Men
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...
, they are accepted as apprentices by the playwright William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, who recognises Kit's acting ability and Peter's gift of mimicry. They perform in various plays and see Sir Philip in the audience during Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
.
Peter's copy of Shakespeare's new play Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
is stolen by the "Yellow Gentleman", and Kit and Peter worry that he plans to profit from the unpublished play. While stealing back the script, Peter overhears a plot by Sir Philip and his associates to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. He also notices an odd poem written on the script, and some words underlined that he has no idea what they mean but has a funny feeling about them.
After meeting the head of the Queen's Secret Service, Kit and Peter travel back to Peter's village in disguise with one of the Queen's spies, Tom Boyd, to follow a clue which leads to Sir Philip's peel tower
Peel tower
Peel towers are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger...
. Tom is killed by the conspirators. Peter is captured but not before learning that John Somers, an actor in their company, is to shoot the Queen during the first performance of Henry V. This is part of a wider conspiracy to install a new regime in England, the rest of it is vague but they are evidently in league with Spain. He is taken for questioning to a deserted Ullswater
Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately nine miles long and 0.75 miles wide with a maximum depth of slightly more than ....
islet but manages to knock out the guard. He swims to the mainland and narrowly escapes across the fell
Fell
“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...
s.
Kit and Peter go to a local magistrate, but discover he is a part of the treasonous plan. They steal his horses, which are of exceptional quality, intending to ride to London to warn the Queen. Sir Philip and his associates give chase. On the road they meet Desmond and the rest of the company who are rehearsing Edward II
Edward II (play)
Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
. On hearing of the conspiracy, Desmond vows to stop Sir Philip.
The actors dress up in their soldier costumes and rig the horses to sound like an army ready to attack, with trumpets and drums behind. Kit and Peter pretend to be captives so Sir Philip will dismount, and he and his followers are then taken into custody by Desmond's men. Kit and Peter make a desperate dash back to London, and John Somers is captured by guards moments before he can shoot. Kit and Peter meet the Queen and tell her their adventures.
In the last paragraph, Peter finishes writing the story and we learn that he and Kit are now married with children and living in a lakeside house in Cumberland.
Characters
- Peter Brownrigg - Narrator and protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. 14-year-old Cumberland boy, Kit's friend - Kit Kirkstone - Protagonist. Runaway heiress, real name Katharine Russell, Peter's friend
- Sir Philip Morton - Antagonist. Ruthless landlord and conspiracy leader
- Mr Desmond - Actor
- Mrs Desmond - Mr Desmond's wife
- Anthony Duncan - Conspirator
- John Somers - Actor, conspirator, assassin
- Tom Boyd - Secret agentSecret AgentSecret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
Historical characters
- Mr BurbageRichard BurbageRichard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
- Actor and owner of the Globe TheatreGlobe TheatreThe Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
in London - William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- Playwright and actor - Sir Robert CecilRobert Cecil, 1st Earl of SalisburyRobert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
- Government minister and head of the Queen's Secret Service - Sir Francis BaconFrancis BaconFrancis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
- Philosopher, statesman and essayist; cousin of Sir Robert Cecil - Queen Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
Significance of work
Cue for Treason was not Trease's first novel, as he had already written a few other children's novels, notably Bows Against the BaronsBows Against the Barons
Bows Against the Barons is a 1934 children's novel by British author Geoffrey Trease. Based on the legend of Robin Hood, it tells the story of an adolescent boy who joins his outlaw band and takes part in a great rebellion against the feudal elite. As Trease's first novel, Bows Against the Barons...
and Comrades for the Charter, where he showed a strong streak of political radicalism.
However, Cue for Treason was written fairly early in his writing career, and was in a sense his definitive work. As well as being his best known, it has been described as creating the template on which he wrote many of his later novels. In particular, he has as his central character an adolescent male, who meets an adolescent female who proves a strong character in her own right. He also employs some plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
s which he sometimes used in his later works e.g. the heroine spends a large part of the story disguised as a boy, and in order to advance the plot the hero happens to overhear the villains talking. However, although in this case the hero and heroine marry at the end, he avoids this obvious ending in some of his later novels (e.g. The Hills of Varna
The Hills of Varna
The Hills of Varna is a children's historical novel by Geoffrey Trease, published in 1948. It is an adventure story based on the revival of classical scholarship in the Renaissance.-Introduction:...
, which otherwise shows some similarity to Cue for Treason).
The novel is marked by a strong sense of place, particularly showing Trease's love of the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, where he also set his Bannerdale stories, including No Boats on Bannermere
No Boats on Bannermere
No Boats on Bannermere is a 1949 children's novel by Geoffrey Trease, and the first of his five Bannerdale novels. They are school stories set in Cumberland, in the Lake District.- Plot summary :...
.
The politics of the Elizabethan era are mentioned in the novel: social concerns over enclosures and unemployment, and the state matters of rebellion and invasion. Forced marriage
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
and the exclusion of women from the drama are touched upon. The values of patriotism, loyalty and independence are stressed. The motives of the conspirators are not examined, being assumed to be simply wealth and power; although historically religion would have been a factor, this is not mentioned beyond a casual reference to "old ways".
The English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
is represented by its two extremes: a poor temporary company which tours around England, and the Lord Chamberlain's Men who perform for the Queen and her court.