By Any Other Name
A Novel
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4.3 • 711 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.
“You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life in her brilliantly researched new novel.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Women
Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.
In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.
Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Two women across five centuries struggle to be heard in this affecting drama from best-selling novelist Jodi Picoult. At the dawn of the 2020s, Melina Green is a struggling young playwright trying to break into London’s boy’s-club theater scene with a play based on her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano, whom she believes is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays. In the late 16th century, Emilia is a writer at a time when women are barely allowed to learn to read and must hide her identity by allowing a man to take credit for her words. Unfortunately, things haven’t changed much for Mel. Picoult cleverly illustrates the similarities between the two women’s situations while immersing us in each century’s cultures and biases. We were frustrated by Mel’s dilemma and heartbroken by the trials and tribulations Emilia goes through. By Any Other Name is a relatable and moving read, and another strong entry in Picoult’s admirable body of work.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Picoult (Wish You Were Here) offers a stimulating if muddled parallel narrative of two women writers, each of whose work is credited to a man. In 1582, poet Emilia Bassano becomes consort to Lord Hunsdon, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain. At the time, women were forbidden to have anything to do with the theater, but when Emilia crosses paths with William Shakespeare, he's impressed with her work and agrees to pay for the sonnets and plays she's secretly written if he can take credit for them. Thus begins a working relationship that spans decades. In the present day, Emilia's descendant Melina Green writes a play about Emilia and Shakespeare, but fears she won't be able to get it produced after being told that people only relate to plays by men. Unbeknownst to Melina, her roommate, Andre, submits the play to a fringe festival under the pseudonym Mel Green, leading the artistic director to assume the writer is a man. After the play is accepted, Andre poses as Mel during the production, with Melina pretending to be his assistant. The Elizabethan sections, which follow Emilia through an unhappy marriage as the work she wrote for Shakespeare receives acclaim, are the strongest. In comparison, Picoult's depictions of racism and sexism in the contemporary theater world are a bit simplistic. It's a mixed bag.
Customer Reviews
Another great one by Jodi Picoult
This book was hard to get into in the beginning. But as the story unraveled, it became one of those books you can’t put down. The idea that Shakespeare didn’t write any of the material that we have been taught was disconcerting at first. But as the case was laid out it appears that it may indeed be true.
Take time with this book to think about what is transpiring in the book. Enjoy!
Loved it!
What a story! Did not want to put it down, especially the last few chapters. The concept that a woman actually wrote Shakespeare’s most important plays is brilliant.
By Any Other Name
Loved this book! Couldn’t put it down.