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THE BLURB:-
In the boldest imagining of the era since Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, this spellbinding novel of witchcraft, poetry and passion brings to life Aemilia Lanyer- the playwright's muse and his one true love.
The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia grows up in the court of Elizabeth I, absorbing a love of poetry and learning. Brilliant, beautiful and highly educated, she is mistress of Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Chamberlain and Queen's cousin. But when she falls in love with court playwright William Shakespeare, her fortunes change irrevocably.
THE REALITY:-
There is no doubt that the author of this novel is erudite in the extreme- this part truth, part fiction meandering was part of her PhD thesis and it certainly comes across as academic. Researched to the nth degree, I know something of Shakespeare, have read some of his works and have seen several of his plays at Shakespeare's Globe on the south bank of the Thames here in London. I'm not enough of an expert to know which were direct copies of his work within this work, and which were the author's meanderings. Either way, they worked.
I managed to learn some new words whilst reading this, which I am always happy to do:-
succubus- a female demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men
grimoire- a book of magic spells and invocations
...And use of greymalkin- an archaic term for a cat appeared throughout (when spelt grimalkin it can also mean a spiteful old woman) and I've always liked this word when it shows its feline face in historical fiction.
I also learnt a new curse: “Go and piss in a puddle.” ...Amongst many other such insults, and I'm always happy to educate myself in this particular field! Indeed this game of bawd, with a variety of characters- most of them owning horrendous faults- certainly came across as authentic. This fusing of fact with fiction certainly entertained.
But... It failed to touch me. Found in Poundland whilst I was in Middlesbrough for my graduation ceremony last year, it was put to the bottom of my reading pile. Despite its captivating cover and the offer of being something right up my street, it was something I could put down for weeks on end (although it was very easy to regain the thread) and raced through during reading sessions not because I wanted to find out what the ending was- rather, I just wanted to reach the end. Which was nothing spectacular.
I'm glad I read this fanciful tale of demons, spirits of the dead and a homunculus (little man) in a tube; and could relate to tales of love and passion (and certainly liked references to anything sexual or crude- this book had plenty of them). But I was also glad to say goodbye to it. I was entertained but my heart remained aloof.