By Any Other Name Published by Random House of Canada on August 20, 2024 Genres: Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
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AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.
“You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
As an undergraduate, Melina Green had a rare opportunity to have one of her first plays judged by famous theatre critic Jasper Tolle, only to be publicly humiliated by a harsh and biased critique. Ten years later, her confidence as a playwright hasn't recovered, even though she has just completed a work that she thinks is her best yet. It is based on the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, the first published female poet in England—and rumored to be the “Dark Lady” of Shakespeare’s sonnets—but whom some scholars suspect may be the real author of a number of his plays. Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, and then her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits it to a festival under a male pseudonym.
In 1581, the young orphan Emilia Bassano is being raised in the ways of the English aristocracy by the Baron Willoughby and his sister. Her lessons on languages, reading and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling. But like most women of her day, she has no control over her fate, and is ripped from her old life and forced to become a courtesan to Lord Hunsdon, a man knighted by Queen Elizabeth as the Lord Chamberlain in charge of all theatre in London. Though she has no other freedoms, she pseudonymously sets her own pen to paper, inspired by the work of the most brilliant playwrights of the time.
Told in dual intertwining timelines, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage and desire centres two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. As Emilia alters the course of her life, and the world, she blazes a trail. Centuries later, will Melina face the same terrible fate—to have her work celebrated, but only at the price of letting another take credit?
Review:
Kudos to Jodi Picoult for this stunning piece of historical fiction! I can’t say enough good things about this book. It is a masterful, well-researched, and compelling story that explores the possibility that William Shakespeare did not write his plays, or at least didn’t write all of them. Picoult provides a believable tale of how a woman, Emelia Bassano, could have been the author. There are two stories in the book: one in the present day with a female playwright who has trouble getting recognition and publication because she is female, and the story of Emelia Bassano in 1581 and how she had to find a way to get published (because she needed the money) in a time when women were not allowed to write plays. I liked Emelia’s story the best; it was fascinating. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes good historical fiction.
About Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 28 novels, including Mad Honey, Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page.
Picoult’s books have been translated into thirty-four languages in thirty-five countries. Four novels – The Pact. Plain Truth. The Tenth Circle. and Salem Falls – have been made into television movies. My Sister’s Keeper was a film released from New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing and Cameron Diaz starring. Mad Honey is currently in development for a series/film. SMALL GREAT THINGS has been optioned for motion picture adaptation. Picoult also wrote five issues of DC Comic’s Wonder Woman. Picoult is the co-librettist for the stage musical adaptation of her two Young Adult novels, Picoult’s two Young Adult novels, Between The Lines and Off The Page, co-written with her daughter Samantha Van Leer, which premiered Off-Broadway in Summer 2021 and will be licensed through Music Theatre International during the fall of 2022. She is also the co-librettist of the musical BREATHE, which was inducted into the Library of Congress’s Performing Arts COVID-19 Response Collection; and of the musical adaptation of THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, which will play at the Coventry Belgrade and the Leicester Curve in the fall of 2023.
