Artistic license is an essential element in historical novels but when the facts are few, imagination is key. Maggie O'Farrell puts the focus entirely on Shakespeare's wife in telling the story of their love affair, marriage and death of their son, aged eleven. It becomes a study of love, compromise, separation, motherhood and grief. The prose is beautiful and the character and intimacy the author creates are so masterful that I was utterly convinced. Brava!
(Denise Lewis - bwl 97 Summer 2020 ) |
