The Spy of Venice

May 1, 2018

Between his twins' baptism in 1585 and his appearance on London theatre records in 1592, William Shakespeare's life is a mystery. Brandreth's first novel is an entertaining exploration of what Will might have been doing during those oft-debated seven "lost years." After leaving Stratford in a blaze of glory (deflowering a virgin and escaping her irate father), he joins a motley crew of traveling players on a journey to Venice with an English ambassador. Danger stalks Will and his friends as they get caught up in the city's political/religious intrigue. Sword fights, secret identities, bear baiting, hurled insults, wooing of ladies as well as echoes of the Bard's future plays are sprinkled throughout this action-packed romp. Female characters are fierce, witty matches for Will, particularly the compelling courtesan Isabella. The concluding plan to ensnare the villain is as intricate and impressive as some of the greatest Shakespearean plots. A historical note details Brandreth's inspiration and notes that this imagined trip to Italy could explain the 13 plays set there. VERDICT More historical thriller than mystery, this series opener by the rhetoric coach to the Royal Shakespeare Company is great fun for Shakespeare fans as well as those who enjoy smart language and a grand adventure.--Katie Lawrence, Grand Rapids, MI

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 11, 2018
What if William Shakespeare was an intelligence agent before he became a playwright? That’s the clever premise of Brandreth’s impressive first novel. In 1585, the 20-year-old William, who’s been working half-heartedly in the family glove trade, leaves Stratford-upon-Avon at the urging of his father after the discovery of his affair with a young woman, Alice Hunt, whose father, a steward to the local MP, could do him harm. William heads to London, where he becomes an actor and meets Sir Henry Carr, the English ambassador to Venice. Sir Henry, who’s embarking on a delicate diplomatic mission, is looking for actors to be part of the delegation. With his country under threat from Spain, France, and the Netherlands, he hopes that the offer of a trade deal will persuade the Venetians to ally with England. William signs on and travels to Venice, where he must contend with various perils, including Catholic assassins. Brandreth, the rhetoric coach to the Royal Shakespeare Company, plausibly and imaginatively fills a gap in the historical record of the Bard’s life. Agent: Ivan Mulcahy, MMB Creative (U.K.).

Starred review from May 1, 2018
Ah, Shakespeare! The lunatic, the lover, the poet. The spy. Royal Shakespeare Company rhetoric coach Brandreth brings considerable expertise to his subject in a story rich in humor and intrigue. The dialogue and characters borrow heavily and delightfully from the Bard himself, including an exit, pursued by a bear. Oldcastle is clearly Sir John Falstaff incarnate, complete with the avoirdupois, wanton desires, and witticisms readers would expect. Who else, in the clutches of a villainous Italian count, could pull off the pretense of being the Ambassador of England ? Despite his tremendous fame, very few facts about Shakespeare have been established, and Brandreth has a grand old time filling in some of the blanks. A swashbuckling young man emerges after a hasty flight from an ill-advised assignation in Stratford. In London, he falls in with a band of players, and his poetry commissions eventually involve him in an intrigue that takes him to Venice on a crucial government assignment. Shakespeare finds himself in considerable peril as an Englishman in a Catholic country, incurring papal wrath and fending off ruthless assassins at every turn. It is a Venice that predates Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti by about 400 years, but Brandreth creates a sixteenth-century atmosphere that is equally tangible. As rich in period detail as Rory Clements' John Shakespeare series (about William's older brother) and C. J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake novels, also set in the sixteenth century, but a lot more fun. Bravo!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from November 1, 2018

The time: 1585. The setting: Stratford, London, and Venice. This fast-paced tale of intrigue and murder theorizes how the Bard may have spent part of his "Lost Years" (1585-92). Using many historically accurate details of the period's religious and political turmoil in England and the decadent Venetian Republic, Brandreth (Shakespearean expert and rhetoric coach for the Royal Shakespeare Company) has crafted a story filled with humor, sexual innuendo, and sparkling banter among well-developed characters. Frequent allusions to the playwright's plots, dramatis personae, and dialogue ensure good reading for Shakespeare aficionados and neophytes alike. Similar in appeal to Bernard Cornwell's Fools and Mortals, Brandreth's mystery, told largely in flashback and inspired by documented events and personages, offers a plausible scenario for Shakespeare's fascination with Italy, the setting of 13 of his 39 plays. The chapter titles are quotes from his oeuvre-everything from bits of poetry to stage directions, with the text divided into dramatic acts and scenes. Smatterings of Italian vocabulary (e.g., ancone, traghetti) are either defined or explained in the text. The "Historical Note" elucidates the facts the author used, allowing Brandreth to declare, "This is not a work of history, but it could have been this way..." VERDICT A stunning, provocative debut novel sure to capture the imagination of older teens.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.