Secrets, intrigue, belief.

Shakespeare the playwright, is not a man. He is the amalgam of three women desperate to tell their stories into the world, (countess) Mary Herbert, (court musician) Emelia Bassano and (seamstress) Jane Daggert.
The subterfuge, the tightly controlled social strata of Elizabethan England, the limited roles of women combine to create a gorgeously told story of just how they will create, publish and avoid punishment.

A truly excellent piece of historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fabulous premise for a book. Three women from different walks of life are all connected to the court of Elizabeth 1st. AS such they are not allowed to write plays but they do. A tense book with lots of twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

There has long been discourse on whether William Shakespeare was the author of all the plays in his catalogue. What if in reality it was actually three strong, intelligent women from different backgrounds that brought their knowledge and story telling skills together. D.J. Nix's novel "The Shakespeare Secret" does exactly this. Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Emilia Bassano, court musician; and, Jane Daggett, the mistress of the wardrobe for the players are great story tellers and determined to find a way to put their talents upon the stage. Jane is able to convince William Shakespeare to pass the plays as his own work so that the women are able to have their plays viewed in public. Shakespeare is willing to take on their request because he wants to move forward in the company. All are soon caught up in the conspiracy and fear over papist plots and spies, throwing their life and liberty at risk. At the same time, the Plague is also starting to hit London.

I really enjoyed this book and sped through it. It is well written, with great character development. I particularly enjoyed the part where they were writing the Taming of the Shrew (which is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays).

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this copy of "The Shakespeare Secret."

I always enjoy "who wrote the Shakespeare plays" theories, especially when it's a close-knit trio of women who outshine all the men at Elizabeth's court.

Starring real-life characters:
Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke who hates court intrigue and thrives through writing poetry
Emilia Bassano Lanier, a court musician with a razor-sharp wit who wants to write poetry and be a patron of the arts

They meet seamstress Jane Daggett who has an unbridled imagination and creates vivid stories telling of women's strength.

The three agree to meet secretly to write plays and Jane has help from a young actor "Will Shakespeare" who agrees to claim the plays as his own.

So much court intrigue and spies and secret codes...and the Plague.... BUT the ending was wonderful and you'll be cheering.

this was a fantastic concept for a historical fiction novel, it had that realistic element that I was looking for. It felt like the time-period and was engaged with the characters that I was looking for. It was everything in a historical mystery novel and the characters worked together. I was invested in what D. J. Nix wrote and was glad I read this, it had a tension that I was looking for and was glad everything worked overall.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I want to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC.
William Shakespeare might not be the great writer that
we've been told is difficult for anyone to digest. Last year I strted to read Jodi Picoult's By Any Other but DNF'ed it soon. The story wasn't interesting to me.
The premise of this book is intriguing, the plot even more so. Characters are rich and what's more the connections they form, their efforts, the conclusions they form and their striving towards fulfilling their dreams while making sure their everyday lives aren't too changed is written such a way that it feels natural and not preaching.
The characters leave a mark on you and I applauded all our ladies Mary, Emilia and Jane as well as Queen Elizabeth I for their work in men's world.
Robert Cecil wasn't your typical villain either and Will's support to Jane, desire and hardwork to be a writer in truth, especially his delight as he comes to the realization of who the original playwrighters are is just infectious.

Oh yes! Love the premise of three women being the writers instead of one man. In a time of great danger to all concerend, this novel weaves through court intrigue, women’s rights (or lack of), throwing in some oblique praise of Elizabeth I.

3.5 ⭐

What if the best-known plays in the English-speaking world were written under a pseudonym? Is it possible that three women (a frustrated poet, a court musician and a seamstress) collaborated to create ‘Shakespeare’?

Had it not been for one of the Queen’s spies noting their suspicious behaviour, their identity may have been concealed and their secret kept … a secret. Now Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke Emelia Bassano and Jane Daggett are put in a compromising position of outing each other or dealing with the accusations of a plot to kill the queen.

Nix’s story highlights friendship and trust and relies on startling revelations to propel the mystery. It has a great sense of humour, a true-to-history setting, good pacing and a fantastic premise.

This imaginative historical fiction novel was a satisfying read.

Gorgeous cover!

I was gifted this copy by Alcove Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A noblewoman, a court musician, & a theater troupe seamstress walk into a room....
The setup that three women are really behind the plays of William Shakespeare is a fun plot for a historical novel. The initial few chapters quickly set up our trio (who despite their different social statuses all dream of writing plays that will be consumed by an adoring public), and the plot moves at a fairly good pace. I did think that the three women decided on their secret playwriting a little too quickly, and wanted a bit more setup & initial growth of their friendship.
The secret playwriting activities soon gets the trio unwanted attention from one of the Queen's spies, and that leads them (and their small group of co-conspirators) into a whole lot of trouble. The novel has plenty of fun & quippy dialogue like: "Sheath your sword, my lord, lest your sternness dislodge your codpiece and shock the finer ladies present".
Not all the characters felt very well developed (like the spy sent to spy on the women, or the ever supportive Captain Dansby), and not all really get to participate in the final plan that emerges towards the end of the novel. All the different plot threads do come together at about the 70% mark, and the level of danger & court intrigue really picks up (the parts with Jane hiding out in London, and Shakespeare struggling to maintain his part in the great ruse were my favorite parts).