Mistress Shakespeare

Summary (from the publisher): In Mistress Shakespeare, Elizabethan beauty Anne Whateley reveals intimate details of her dangerous, daring life and her great love, William Shakespeare. As historical records show, Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton is betrothed to Will just days before he is forced to wed the pregnant Anne Hathaway of Shottery. The clandestine Whateley/Shakespeare match is a meeting of hearts and heads that no one—not even Queen Elizabeth or her spymasters—can destroy. From rural Stratford-upon- Avon to teeming London, the passionate pair struggles to stay solvent and remain safe from Elizabeth I’s campaign to hunt down secret Catholics, of whom Shakespeare is rumored to be a part. Often at odds, always in love, the couple sells Will’s first plays and, as he climbs to theatrical power in Elizabeth’s England, they fend off fierce competition from rival London dramatists, ones as treacherous as they are talented. Persecution and plague, insurrection and inferno, friends and foes, even executions of those they hold dear, bring Anne’s heartrending story to life. Spanning half a century of Elizabethan and Jacobean history and sweeping from the lowest reaches of society to the royal court, this richly textured novel tells the real story of Shakespeare in love.


Review: I love historical fiction but I do get tired of the same historical figures' stories being rehashed time and again. So Mistress Shakespeare was refreshing in that in its change in scenery and characters. Harper's novel is based on the discrepancy in the the town records that list William Shakespeare as marrying an Anne Whateley the day before he is listed as marrying an Anne Hathaway. Harper extrapolates that Shakespeare was in love with the first Anne who he secretly married, before being forced to marry the second Anne. This story is told from the point of view of his secret wife. 


Harper did a great job of interweaving Shakespeare references and history into the novel and details from the village where he grew up. The story of his secret wife was certainly believable. However, it lacked characterization, especially in the childhood years described. I also thought Shakespeare's true wife and children were vilified and conveniently pushed to the side in this novel in a way that they probably were not in reality. In the end, I enjoyed this novel but didn't find it particularly memorable or moving. It failed to capture the full creativity and intelligence that I know Shakespeare certainly had.


Stars: 3