Posted: August 24, 1997 at 19:45:37: by Gordon Keating-Brown
: : Hank Greely mentioned that unusual name "Jorge
: : Petronius" which has also aroused my curiosity.
: : Petronius is a famous or infamous name in Roman
: : history. He was for a while the favorite of the
: : Emperor Nero until he found the debaucheries of
: : the Imperial Court too much. He committed sucide
: : by cutting his wrists before Nero could capture
: : him.
: : He also wrote a famous "novel" THE SATYRICON which
: : is a classic of Latin literature. I have always
: : wondered why Norton used this unusual name
: : considering the nature of the original character.: That's a really interesting observation. I'd like to learn more about Petronius to try to figure out the connection, if any. Petronius in the book is an on-looker who speeds (certain?) people through the Gate, for money, but never partakes himself - an observer and not a doer. Is that the connection? (Jorge, of course, is just George in Spanish, although why George?) Tall Dames Walking, the Petronius story in Tales of the Witch World II, was a little weird for my taste, with too many "insider only" references to the Arthurian cycle (most of them far past my ken - I wasn't surprised to see in the notes that the author was getting a Ph.D. for work on the Arthurian legends). It would be interesting to have Petronius come to the Witch World in a story. : Hank Hello, I've just recently come across this site and I've found it very interesting that there are enough people to keep a site going dedicated to Andre Norton's Witch World series. I'd like to throw in a comment of my own on the opening location of the first Witch World novel. According to my copy of the book (Ace paperback, dated 1963) Simon starts out his adventure on the contintent of North America, probably somewhere on the eastern seaboard of the United States. On pages 9 and 10 of my copy, Jorge Petronius initiates this conversation: "We head downtown, but not to the harbor, My clients travel, but not by sea, air, or land. How much do you know of the traditions of your fatherland, Colonel?"
"Matacham, Pennsylvania has no traditions I ever heard of-"
"I am not concerned with a crude mining town ON THIS CONTINENT [emphasis added]..." This indicates the action is taking place in North America, and by implication, from the reference to the harbor, on the east coast of the US. Gordon
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