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In 1830, the remnants of a songbook and several poems were discovered in Tealburrow Inn, Dart Moor England. The writings were of the hand of Lord Constance, Jared Garth Hookwell II, 2nd Earl of Constance. Enigmatic, considering the man scarcely mentioned his artistic pursuits in life. A shadowy figure in history, the earl’s late sister Andrea Hookwell also left a telling journal that sheds light on much of his hidden work. Relatives and associates believed Lord Constance to be mad. The writings found in 1830 were part of the earl’s luggage. He had returned to England after nearly two decades in Belize. Reasons for his stay in Belize, according to some, had to do with his mental instability. Reportedly the earl was a calm and sophisticated man but had bouts of intense mania, during which he would ramble for hours on end, froth at the mouth and hallucinate. For these reasons, he lived over the ocean, separated from his family in England for their own good.
Shortly after the discovery of his luggage, Lord Constance was declared missing. It would seem after his return to England, he vanished. Now until his wife Deanna Hookwell arrived to search for the husband she had been expecting to return, did anyone note his absence.
Among Lord Constance’s poetry and lyrics can be found an interesting use of coded metaphor, a fascination with the ancient Roman Emperor Caligula and an eerie self-awareness. The hints of a horrific childhood, the trauma of having his sister commit suicide, his slip into madness and elegant self-loathing litter the pages. Important figures in his life make appearances; a relative who isolated and abused he and his sister, his beloved sister Andrea, his first-mate during a stint as a ship captain during the war, his wife, the son he never met, a ward he raised in Belize, and numerous lovers.
By 1831, Lord Constance was officially presumed dead and his young son bestowed with the title. If this is so, Lord Constance would have been 47 when he disappeared and left behind the puzzle that is his life. He never met his son. His body was never found. His mental illness remains undiagnosed by historians who cannot decide if the man suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder or plain psychopathy. Only one thing is clear; Lord Constance had some idea that he was mad, and he did his utmost to hide it. Like his historical counterpart Caligula, he remains an enigma; feared, pitied, lost.
(To Read the Poems: http://luzbriar.deviantart.com/gallery/29102584 )
©2010-2011 Luz Briar. Characters, Poems, and ALL content property of author. ALL Rights Reserved.
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