We all know that there is not much concrete information on William Shakespeare. Most people know about the question of the actual authorship of his work. However, (I’m ashamed to admit this because I have a degree in English and didn’t know this…) there is a question out there as to the many wives of Shakespeare too. Watch out Henry VIII, here comes Master Shakespeare to give you a run for your spousal money!!!! LOL! Just kidding, Shakespeare didn’t have that many! There is an entry in the Stratford book of marriages for Shakespeare and TWO women. The second woman is Anne Hatheway whom we all know to be his wife. But, on the day before that entry there was a marriage license dispensed for him to wed Anne Whateley. Was this a clerical error? Was he a bigamist? What’s going on here?
Karen Harper’s novel, Mistress Shakespeare, tells the story of his secret life with Anne Whateley. It seems they were childhood sweethearts who were secretly wed before Shakespeare married the other Anne! Oh…the scandal!! LOL! Anne Whateley is his London wife and Anne Hatheway is his Stratford wife.
This is a pretty interesting novel if you’re like me and enjoy all things Shakespeare. It tells of his rise to artistic fame set against the backdrop of the times – political unrest, the plague, etc. It also gives an interesting interpretation of his plays and sonnet series from the perspective of his double spousal relationships and thus his warped interpretation of love.
I look forward to reading more by this author and was pleasantly surprised to find a lot more of her historical fiction at my local library! Yippee!!!! I love summer reading on the beach!!!! I hope my library doesn’t mind when books come back a little sandy…
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5 comments:
Hi. Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I'm also a stitcher (and have a blog just for that--but as I am not stitching much lately I don't update it very often) and also love books. I had this book from the library, but I didn't get to it in time before it had to be returned. I'm waiting until the line shortens and will request it again. I'm glad to hear it was good. If this is the same Karen Harper--she's also written a mystery series featuring Elizabeth I of all people!
LOL- I love the title and this looks like an interesting book!
Sounds like a great recommendation ... I haven't read a lot about Shakespeare but have read a lot of historical novels in the same time frame that center on Queen Elizabeth I and her rise to power. I will have to check the author out as well.
Ah, thanks! I love Shakespeare and historical fiction...I will add this one to my list!
Thanks for the recommendation! I love that time period and have been reading mainly books set within the period. I will add it to my ever growing list.
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