A lively interpretation of Shakespeare authorship that will win Oxfordian approval and may even convince Stratfordians to...
This debut novel draws on the theory that the real author of William Shakespeare’s plays was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford.
William Shaxper, an ambitious merchant from Stratford, is looking to make his fortune and escape an unhappy home life when he discovers Oxford’s (as de Vere is referred to in the text) theater and the world of acting. Oxford, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth who, due to his status as a nobleman, is forbidden to publish under his own name, invites Shaxper to perform a role that goes well beyond the stage. Oxford’s plays are published as the work of Shake-speare, and Shaxper presents himself to the public as the playwright. For decades, the two men find the relationship beneficial, as Shaxper gains the prominence he seeks, and Oxford continues to do the work he loves without landing in prison. Court politics, much of it involving the question of royal succession and the illegitimate child of Oxford and Queen Elizabeth, serves as a backdrop to the literary intrigue and ultimately proves to be Oxford’s undoing, leading to the plays’ authorship remaining permanently behind the now-famous pseudonym. Drawing heavily on the work of Oxfordian scholars, Kline fictionalizes her interpretation of the evidence and is able to create a plausible story on a topic about which historians can only speculate. Although the plot is complex, particularly the web of relationships surrounding Queen Elizabeth, the story is easy to follow, and Kline keeps the pages turning. The writing can be uneven, though, with an excess of adverbs in the early chapters and a number of awkward phrases: “He sat down to listen and visualized the manuscripts drifting closer.” But overall, the result is a thoroughly researched, convincing interpretation of one of the major theories of Shakespeare authorship that is likely to keep readers engaged.
A lively interpretation of Shakespeare authorship that will win Oxfordian approval and may even convince Stratfordians to suspend disbelief and enjoy it.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-1484832394
Page Count: 330
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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