by Marcus Hogan
Before Romeo met Juliet ,
their families met in Verona.
It wasn’t love at first sight.
France & Italy
the spiralling age of the early renaissance
In 1434 an infant and child are betrothed.
No one expects them to love each other.
All expect them to lead their faction.
Welcome to the CAPULET series — a sprawling six-part prequel — an epic tale of ambition, passion, sacrifice and the brutal cost of revenge. Long before the tale of tragic love that defined a generation, the Capulet name was forged in the powder keg of 1434 France. Their ancestral saga is not merely a romance, but a high-stakes chronicle of loyalty, heroism, seductions and betrayals that will launch a blood-soaked feud that consumes more than one generation. Two children in Lyon, Armand de Capulet and Ilaria Marchand, are promised at birth. But in a world of shifting power, their union becomes the flashpoint for a conflict that will force them to abandon innocence for the cold, calculated necessities of survival.
Their story is told through the eyes of Marcel Poquelin, a sharp-tongued roguish musician who finds himself the unlikely chronicler of their remarkable rise. Through Marcel’s irreverent lens - whose favoured exclamations are “Cupid’s Balls!” and “Bite my bare ass!” - you’ll witness the sometimes elegant, sometimes bawdy, yet often dangerous climb of two innocents, learning to navigate a ruthless elite world of excess. But as the Capulets rise, that world darkens. From the war-torn citadels of France to the hidden, hedonistic depths of Italy, Armand and Ilaria are drawn into a volatile web of faction rivalry, dooming curses and religious fanaticism. And the moment they enter the walls of fair Verona, the might of two mercenary houses (Montecchi & Paris) await them.
Both bristle with arrogance, appetites for power and pleasure, and a contempt for any but those of their own factions.
Both will stop at nothing to have their way in everything.
Both see the naïve, newlywed Capulets as easy prey.
Yet Armand and Ilaria’s greatest enemy may be fate itself. Gifted with terrifying, accurate premonitions, Ilaria finds herself guided along their path by a succession of mystics, offering windows and warnings to what lies ahead. Every vision is heeded, every disaster confronted - until the warning of a final, catastrophic vision becomes lost in a swirl of erupting events. As the series evolves, from the vibrant ambitions of their youth, into the haunting sacrifices of their adulthood together, Ilaria and Armand (with their irreverent shadow Marcel) must confront a brutal truth which emerges: the harder they fight to change their future, the tighter the grip of destiny becomes.
CAPULET is the genesis of a time honoured tale told for the modern reader: elegant and poetic at times but also filled with grit and humour, through encounters that are often raw, provocative and relentlessly human.
1 fated pair. 3 mighty factions. 1 burning question: How did Romeo and Juliet’s families come to be at each other’s throats?
But who among them will pay the ultimate sacrifice to make it so?
As the seductions mount and body counts rise, every dark question is answered.
WARNING
t h i s s e r i e s c o n t a i n s
strong sexual content
graphic violence
bawdy humor
elegance
horses
The CAPULET Series
by Marcus Hogan
"I am a fool. No, I don’t mean to say that I’m witless. I consider myself intelligent. Yet having the vanity to think myself so may be a hallmark of stupidity." – Marcel as narrator – CAPULET Book 1 – Fate.
"I am a fool. No, I don’t mean to say that I’m witless. I consider myself intelligent. Yet having the vanity to think myself so may be a hallmark of stupidity." – Marcel as narrator – CAPULET Book 1 – Fate.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: Orphaned royal ward, Eloise du Marche, within the walls of Carentan during the English siege, three days before the bloody battle of Formigny.
BOOK 1 – FATE
As they grow to the age of courtship, against all odds a promised pair of elite children, Armand de Capulet and Ilaria Marchand, seem to be falling in love. But when the final blast of the Hundred-Years war separates the chosen before they can wed, both must survive the perils of war and rivals contesting for their hearts. Armand is swept toward the most frightening battle the French Kingdom has ever faced. Outnumbered two to one at the decisive battle of Formigny, no one expects France to win, let alone for any French warrior to survive. Full of dark premonitions and mystic predictions, nothing seems certain for Ilaria and Armand but the unpredictability of one word - fate.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the Capulet crest and motto which translates from the Latin as - Cower to None.
‘Oh Madame eavesdropper! Cupid's Balls! You should be a spy not a merchant.’ - Marcel to Ilaria - CAPULET Book 2 - Verona.
‘Oh Madame eavesdropper! Cupid's Balls! You should be a spy not a merchant.’ - Marcel to Ilaria - CAPULET Book 2 - Verona.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: Armand and Ilaria de Capulet (Juliet’s uncle & aunt) depart Lyon on their wedding tour to visit Armand’s sister Aurelie Cortellani in far away Verona.
Book 2 - Verona
Following an unexpected truce, the Capulets set out to meet Armand's sister in Verona. But now married, he and his male retinue must adjust to life in feminine company, including Ilaria and her new server Maxine. A pair of experienced Italian soldiers are assigned to guide them. They know the path, yet navigating the road through the alps and onto Verona, will be full of surprises. Hoping to win hearts and minds along the way, Armand and Ilaria must woo influential family and associates. Yet not all will welcome the new leaders-in-waiting. Jealousies and ambitions surface that lead the Capulets into danger. But the most perilous surprise awaits at their destination. The estate of Armand's sister adjoins the ancestral home of Verona's most powerful faction. Two fated families will meet for the first time. It won't be love at first sight.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the Montecchi crest and motto which translates from the Latin as - Bold and Fearless.
"I think of Maxine now, her signatures are written all over my heart. Oh sweet friends I swear to you, by all the saints that pray and every angel that sings in Heaven, love seems too short for this life, and life too short for my want to love in it." - Marcel - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
"I think of Maxine now, her signatures are written all over my heart. Oh sweet friends I swear to you, by all the saints that pray and every angel that sings in Heaven, love seems too short for this life, and life too short for my want to love in it." - Marcel - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: Onorato and Esmeralda Montecchi (Romeo’s uncle & aunt) the primo don and prima donna of Verona’s mightiest faction.
Book 3 - Justice
Armand & Ilaria de Capulet are completing a marriage tour and arrived outside Verona to greet Armand's sister Aurelie and her husband. But before arriving at their estate, taken completely by surprise, the Capulets clashed with Aurelie's closest neighbors, Onorato and Esmeralda Montecchi, known to all as the primo don and donna of Verona's most powerful faction. Before sunset on that first day, Onorato issued a challenge to Armand to meet him in a duel to the death. At the start of this installment Armand rises before dawn to depart in the darkness with a grim entourage to meet his fate. It will be the first time a Capulet enters the gates of Verona and the conditions of his entry are clear. Once combat begins, no quarter may be asked and none given. The premiere Sieur of Capulet will face the primo Don of Montecchi. The lives of all in both factions will be altered forever.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the Cortellani crest and motto which translates from the Latin as - Duty and Honour.
"Moreover, the young duchess understood that an attractive woman such as herself, with wealth and power at her disposal, could attract both men and women like bees to honey. In her closer company, once she understood what a person desperately lacked, she convinced them to embrace an alternative she had at her disposal. Once they embraced it, the siren found she could bend their will to her own with little more than the patience required to outlast any lingering resistance." Marcel on the nature of Yolanthe de Paris - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
"Moreover, the young duchess understood that an attractive woman such as herself, with wealth and power at her disposal, could attract both men and women like bees to honey. In her closer company, once she understood what a person desperately lacked, she convinced them to embrace an alternative she had at her disposal. Once they embraced it, the siren found she could bend their will to her own with little more than the patience required to outlast any lingering resistance." Marcel on the nature of Yolanthe de Paris - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: Duchess Yolanthe de Paris (Yoli) and her husband Duke Reynard (Ren). Turning from a tradition of using marital alliances (by fair means or foul) and martial conquest to expand their faction’s fortune, this mercenary French house now has its sights set upon trade conquest - along the silk road from Lyon to Venice. Verona sits in their path.
Book 4 - Ambition
The civil trial and inquisition that followed the duel in Verona are done. The House of Montecchi seems broken. Their fallen prima donna has vanished as Romeo's parents take control of the embattled faction. Though the Capulets emerge as victors, they must now make a decision. Promising limitless power and prestige, their new associate, Duchess de Paris, is pressing them to commit to a trade alliance. But as the mercenary siren attempts to tighten her grip, she insists that life-altering conditions be attached. And her staggering offer can only occur if a lasting peace is negotiated with the Montecchis. A cascade of fateful events unfold to draw the epic journey on, as promises, and the lure of potential, spur Ilaria's ambitions. Yet hidden from sight, hope is stirring in other hearts too, a darker hope, driven by one with a far more ruthless sense of ambition.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the Paris crest and motto, translating from the Latin as - Guard the Flock.
"But before we allow the wind of this war to scatter us again, I’ve summoned you here to consider our future beyond it.’ She took a demi-step forward. ‘I have a vision for that future. I see it waiting for us. My vision required consent. That consent demanded planning, and the effort that followed has created an important result - for now ... we have a new Master Plan." - Duchess de Paris addresses the 'flock' - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
"But before we allow the wind of this war to scatter us again, I’ve summoned you here to consider our future beyond it.’ She took a demi-step forward. ‘I have a vision for that future. I see it waiting for us. My vision required consent. That consent demanded planning, and the effort that followed has created an important result - for now ... we have a new Master Plan." - Duchess de Paris addresses the 'flock' - CAPULET Book 3 - Justice.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: A nemesis returns to pay her respects and collect an overdue payment - from sworn enemies and their allies.
Book 5 - Retribution
The epic prequel continues. One day after the extraordinary events of the foot race festival, one year after the Montecchi primo don's death (from the duel against Armand de Capulet) the blood feud finally explodes onto the streets of Verona. The body count rises. Two are dead. Many on the Montecchi side (Romeo's family) are suspected. In a dangerous game of cat and mouse, one potential target is smuggled out of Verona. But with a son now born to both sides (Romeo and Thibault) the factions meet to negotiate peace as a Montecchi rebel (their fallen prima donna Esmeralda) schemes to destroy any hope for it.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the familial crest of Eloise du Marche. Their motto translates from the Latin as - Vigilance and Action.
""I flung myself aboard the surly ass and whirled her about. She whirled again as I cursed her for a fool even greater than myself!" - Marcel as narrator - CAPULET Book 6 - Folly.
""I flung myself aboard the surly ass and whirled her about. She whirled again as I cursed her for a fool even greater than myself!" - Marcel as narrator - CAPULET Book 6 - Folly.
FRONT COVER IMAGE: Driven by Yolanthe de Paris, Ilaria is lured into a web of political intrigue that thrives on deception and revels in hedonistic license. The hidden world the Capulets become exposed to is shocking. The result is explosive in a revenger’s finale that leaves little to the imagination. No member of any house, Capulet, Montecchi or Paris, will be left untouched by the chilling result.
Book 6 - Folly
After the loss of their second daughter, a heart-wrenching issue that will determine Rosaline's future threatens to divide the Capulets. Armand's hasty vow, made to Friar Lorenzo on the night Rosaline was born—promising her life to the Church if Ilaria can be saved—has split their marriage. Unshakeable in his vow, Armand's called to France as Ilaria searches for a way to rescind it. Spurred on by the duplicitous Duchess de Paris, a plan is hatched to seek help from two allies in Rome. Yolanthe warns both men are ruthless, the price they'll impose may be more than Ilaria can pay. But a familiar enemy also awaits Ilaria in Rome, as a chance encounter ignites a chain of brutal events that follow her home. Then fate imposes its own price for every vow, ambition and act of vengeance, as CAPULET explodes in a cataclysmic reckoning to reach its haunting conclusion.
REAR COVER IMAGE - bears the crest of the mysterious Count Orlandi. His motto translates from the Latin as - Live with Honour. Die with Honour.
POQUELIN PRESS invites you to meet the creator -
AUTHOR: Marcus Hogan
Above - in 2021 as CEO/Founder of the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory before his departure to write the CAPULET series.
Below - in 1990 as a young Director in the Boston University Master of Fine Arts Program.
HOW IT BEGAN -
I conceived this project in Boston during the summer of ’92 when I was producing my first Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet). It was staged at the Huntington Theatre Studio and sold out before we opened. That was when the notion of a prequel was born that would reveal how the famous families came to be at each other’s throats and how the associations between so many characters were first formed. From the very start (long before Game of Thrones existed) it was also conceived as a tale of how the three (not just two) formidable players from the original tale (Capulet, Montecchi & Paris) would become embroiled in a battle for dominance. I also knew at some point, as the source material suggests, that an alliance between two must also be on the cards.
Started at the end of the pandemic, the full story frame for CAPULET (all 6 books) was written over 4 years (writing 7 hours a day / 7 days a week - give or take just 5 or 6 days) and almost exclusively at Brisbane Square Library in Australia. The finishing process of polishing and proofing all (completed part-time after my nest egg for funding had finally been exhausted) took me another year.
And so … it was done.
For the trivial record, my first experience performing was in the primary school choir which led me to playing the guitar and a life long association with music. My first experience with Shakespeare however was as a punishment in my last year of high school. I was given ‘detention’ for fighting (a bully was harassing a friend and though I’m no hero I intervened). The English Mistress had caught us locked together in (less than mortal) combat and during my detention ‘made me’ memorize the ‘quality of mercy’ monologue from The Merchant of Venice. It had to be ‘word perfect’ to avoid another stay. I recited it. She told me it wasn’t word perfect, but said I was ‘good’ and would ‘let me off’ if I agreed to audition for the play. I was shy, but didn’t want another detention, so I did audition and miraculously offered the lead.
That led me to a BA in Drama at the University of Queensland. UQ led to a BFA in Acting at Cornish College in the USA which led to specialized study at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in NY (closed after 9/11) and finally an MFA in Directing at Boston University. Along the way I practised equestrian skills, martial arts and ballet (classical & jazz), became a professional fight choreographer and specialised in directing classics. Within a year of returning to Australia I founded the Society of Australian Fight Directors and the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory. Fast forward 25 years and I embarked upon this project.
I hope their tale moves you.
I found CAPULET very moving to write.
Marcus Hogan
Book Cover Gallery
FRONT
REAR
CHARACTER CREST GALLERY:
The fleur-de-lys triplet (below) is displayed on some elite crests. Historically this was often a sign of allegiance to a political faction (supporting Papal power) known as the Guelphs. That faction had a powerful rival known as the Ghibellines (in support of the Emperor). By the mid 1400’s an ancient grudge had raged between both sides for more than three centuries. In citadels across the Christian empire, where members of both factions lived side by side (like Milan and Verona in particular) life remained … unsettled.
Every key character in CAPULET who holds elite status or becomes elevated during the epic journey has a familial crest and motto.
14 of these are displayed in this gallery.
Some are crests for sons/daughters of elite warrior families. Others are for those belonging to established/rising merchant families.
DISCLAIMER: Whilst a great deal of historical research was undertaken by Mr Hogan in creating the CAPULET series, all the elite characters (with the exception of a few notable political figures) are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real historical figures bearing the same/similar familial names at the times/places in history depicted in CAPULET … is entirely accidental.
Therefore all the elements in the crests and mottos displayed here are designed to match the fictional ancestry profiles described in the manuscripts.
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