Meyer has done her research and very neatly tied this first-person narrative to the slim sheaf of facts known about William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway. She’s also woven through lots of historical information: what happened when the queen came to town; what market day was like; what sheep-shearing and handfasting were and what it was to fear Catholics. However, the characters, even Anne (called Anne by Shakespeare, but christened Agnes) and Will himself are fairly inert on the page, and rarely does the story spring to life. It is a romantic one, however, as Anne, seven years old when Will is born, recalls his christening and the impetuous, intelligent boy growing up. A vicious stepmother and the death of her father ease Anne into her and Will’s mutual seduction, and a marriage hastened by her pregnancy. The tale closes with a brief account of Will’s many years in London, and his return home to Stratford for five good years before his death. (Historical fiction. YA)
