After last week's Sunday post, I've been rereading the three books I featured there by Michel Bussi, French thriller writer, and have neglected all my TBRs. I'm almost finished (good reading all over again), and have to decide my next read.
I've been ignoring the library as I have a stuffed Kindle, full of the ARCs I have to read.
In the meantime, a more literary novel came in the mail yesterday:
The Which of Shakespeare's Why: A Novel of the Authorship Mystery Near Solution Today, by Leigh Light, publication September 19, 2023, City Point Press.
The book dallies with the age old premise that the real Shakespeare could have been Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, an Elizabethan peer and courtier (1550-1604)
The controversy over who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays has been around almost since they were written. Was the genius behind the plays really that obscure glover’s son from Stratford? Or was it someone else entirely—a man whose class, background, education, and peculiarities make him a more than plausible candidate?
In The Which of Shakespeare’s Why, a 21st-century playwright named Harry Haines makes the case for a major contender via a play he himself is writing for a struggling New Jersey theatre company. Faced with strong disapproval from the “Stratfordites” and with the backing of supporters that sometimes takes some unusual forms, Harry attempts, against great odds, to get the play written and staged.
In the process he has to overcome his own doubts, stay on the right side of the right people, keep his romantic life under control, and deal with not only a difficult actress or two but a flock of opinionated Rockettes. Part hilarious farce, part serious critical examination, The Which of Shakespeare’s Why provides a thought-provoking look at a controversial puzzle with a surprising, ingenious, and wholly satisfying ending that Shakespeare—whoever he was—would have given a standing ovation.
Would you pick up this new novel about the Shakespeare controversy? In The Which of Shakespeare’s Why, a 21st-century playwright named Harry Haines makes the case for a major contender via a play he himself is writing for a struggling New Jersey theatre company. Faced with strong disapproval from the “Stratfordites” and with the backing of supporters that sometimes takes some unusual forms, Harry attempts, against great odds, to get the play written and staged.
In the process he has to overcome his own doubts, stay on the right side of the right people, keep his romantic life under control, and deal with not only a difficult actress or two but a flock of opinionated Rockettes. Part hilarious farce, part serious critical examination, The Which of Shakespeare’s Why provides a thought-provoking look at a controversial puzzle with a surprising, ingenious, and wholly satisfying ending that Shakespeare—whoever he was—would have given a standing ovation.
Thanks to Wiley Sachek Publicity for a review/feature copy of this intriguing book.
Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also, It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday
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