The Shakespeare Secret
The year is 1591. Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, has returned to court, bristling at the empty flattery and pageantry of Queen Elizabeth’s inner circle. But when a chance conversation with fellow outsider Emilia Bassano—and an unlikely spark of inspiration from seamstress Jane Daggett—leads the women to cowrite a play, something dangerous and exhilarating takes root. What begins as a subversive act of creativity soon becomes a covert collaboration, one that requires a public front. Enter a young and eager actor, Will Shakespeare.
The Shakespeare Secret offers a clever reimagining of the Bard’s beginnings through the eyes of three women bold enough to claim the stage for themselves. There’s real charm in the banter, and the language strikes a nice balance: rooted in the time period without sounding stiff. Each woman is conceived with care and given her own arc, and their bond—built on shared risk and quiet rebellion—feels earned.
Things take a dark turn when their private meetings catch the eye of one of Queen Elizabeth’s spies who reports directly to William Cecil, the Queen’s advisor. Cecil brands them traitors and endeavors to catch them in the act. So what started as a creative outlet for the three women now becomes a matter of survival. A couple of twists require a bit of leeway from the reader, though the story moves at a fast pace and the ending is tense and satisfying.
This engaging novel plays well with literary history. The Shakespeare Secret gives voice to the three women who could never sign their own names and does it deftly with wit and a great sense of timing. A recommended read.
