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an introduction to the epic
At the turn of the last century,
Gonzaga was a beloved character of children's
literature, with fans all over the world. The
tale, set in the late eighteenth century, of a
pious brewer who wanders the world bringing beer
and liquor to the thirsty and fine food to the
hungry, was loved by readers of many nations.
Indeed, such was the popularity of the story that
it began to have a life outside the confines of
the written page.
In Scotland, the sport of "Gonzaging"
was considered a rite of passage for students and
apprentices. Lads wearing leather trousers, or
"breeks," would attempt to glue
themselves to wooden benches with the dark thick
Scottish ale known as 90 shilling, the winner
being the young man who could lift the bench off
the floor the longest.
Not to be outdone, German children celebrated
Gonzaga-Day, in which the young would ape their
elders in holding beer festivals and would
drunkenly march around towns singing along to the
music of the Freies-FrŸhlings-Kinder-Clown
-Orchestern.
Sadly, as society's mores changed and childish
intoxication was increasingly frowned upon, the
tale of Gonzaga became unfashionable and was no
longer reprinted. Due to the lax copyrights
situation of the late nineteenth century, many
editions of Gonzaga's story had existed in
various degrees of expurgation and in many
translations of differing accuracy.
In recent years though, most seemed to have been
misplaced, or in the hands of secretive
collectors. Indeed, "The Travels of Father
Gonzaga" might have been lost to the English
language altogether were it not for the work of a
private and modest foundation based in Duluth
which decided that a definitive edition must be
established.
They recently commissioned a translation into
English from the many-volumed Lapp Classic Comics
edition of the tale which had been published in
the late Nineteen-Fifties. Though liberal
introduction of new material was undertaken,
unbidden, by the translation team, who had a
marked propensity for drink, this edition is true
to the spirit o Gonzaga.
When we first meet our hero, he has made himself
at home with an Aboriginal clan (headed by a man
referred to by Gonzaga as Theophilus), in the
bush surrounding Botany Bay -- today's Sydney --
in Australia. It is soon after the first arrival
of the British soldiers and their wretched
prisoners, though quite how Gonzaga came to be
there to greet these unfortunates is a tale for
another telling. Gonzaga has recently encountered
the new arrivals and, sensing a potential markets
for his wares, makes preparations.
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© 1999 marcus boon, david wondrich, and nicholas
noyes, used with permission
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