Silverberg's band of traveling entertainers in Lard Valentine's Castle (1980) suggests a gypsy troupe, and some of Valentine's adventures in the early parts of that novel are described in a tone anticipating Yakoub's reminiscences of his early life.

Silverberg's extensive use of history and archeology in his nonfiction books of the 1960s no doubt provided some information about gypsy lore, as well as some of his understanding of practical politics.