Monday, August 19, 2013

Book Note: Loving Will Shakespeare

Meyer, Carolyn. Loving Will Shakespeare. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006.

The story of Anne Hathaway's relationship with William Shakespeare is here transformed into a young adult novel. It begins with a letter from Will to Anne in 1611; he announces his intention to return to Stratford permanently. Anne, our narrator, then takes us back to the beginning of her life, traces it through to her falling for, sleeping with, and being wedded to William Shakespeare.

The book is on the sappy side of the spectrum, and I'm afraid I didn't overly enjoy its characterization of Anne, who seems to fall in love with, to attempt to elope with, or to become affianced to a new man in just about every other chapter.

Still, it's pretty strong on general historical accuracy (apart from its characterization). And it's a quick and easy read. If that's what you're looking for, you've found it.

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Unless otherwise indicated, quotations from Shakespeare's works are from the following edition:
Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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