Brenna B. (demiducky25) reviewed on 1/23/2010 + 161 more book reviews

For all that the world knows of William Shakespeare and his plays, very little is typically told about his family. This novel puts together a story about what life might have been like for Judith Shakespeare, his youngest daughter. Little is really known about Judith Shakespeare beyond the fact that her twin brother Hamnet died when they were eleven, that she married when she was "older" (around 31) and that her husband was a few years younger than her. Grace Tiffany paints Judith as head-strong, independent, and grieving for her twin. From this, she pieces together an elaborate adventure that takes Judith out of Stratford and throws her into the bustling city of London. The Judith in this story leads a life much like one of Shakespeare's plays: death, betrayals, secrets, hidden identities, adventure, etc. Whether or not she actually lived this type of life or not is another story, but Grace Tiffany makes it seem reasonable enough and demonstrates how some of the things that happened to Judith and their family would become inspiration for Shakespeare's plays. This book wasn't quite what I expected to read going in (I thought the majority of it would concentrate on Judith's younger years during her London adventure, but that was only the first half), but it was still an entertaining read.

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