Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for gifting me a digital ARC by one of my all-time favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!
Two women, centuries apart, forced to hide behind another name to make their voices heard. In 1581, Emilia Bassano, has no voice in her life. But as Lord Chamberlain's mistress, she finds a way to bring her writing to the stage in secret. In the present, playwright Melina Green is inspired by the life of Emilia, her ancestor, and writes a new play. Will Melina also have to hide her work to have a chance to see it performed?
I've been a huge fan of Picoult and always rush to read anything she writes. While this is a different book from her, it is no less wonderfully written and meticulously researched. Told in alternating timelines and POV from both Emilia and Melina, we see how different things are but how some things remain the same. I got caught up in how women's lives were in Emilia's time and how women were forced into lives with absolutely no control. It's been a theory for a while that William Shakespeare was not the sole author of his works, and indeed what role he did play in them. This book explored that theory and made it all extremely plausible. I did sometimes feel that the book went on a bit too long, stressing the patriarchy/feminist angles, although valid for sure. Be sure to read the author's note!
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