A great concept that fell slightly short for me
I loved the idea of this book - William Shakespeare is some kind of British spy up to all sorts of derring do in Italy.
It is a decent enough concept but somehow the book fell a bit short of my expectations.
The story should have been a swashbuckling kind of romp but it was a bit too plodding for me. The language is of a Shakespearian style which means that the over-wordiness can detract from the sense of adventure.
William is accompanied by two friends and they should all be returning to England to pass on the information they have gleaned. However his mistress dies, he is bereft and the three friends become temporarily separated.
Meanwhile, duke's daughter, Aemilia is determined to marry her cousin for love rather than the count she has been promised to.
Events conspire to lead all the characters to join a band of outlaws and suddenly they are all embroiled in a battle. The finale leads to a number of deaths which almost serves to leave everyone murdered bar the main characters.
Despite all the action I found this book hard going - it would probably have benefited from a massive word cull and a pitch towards the YA market.
It is a decent enough concept but somehow the book fell a bit short of my expectations.
The story should have been a swashbuckling kind of romp but it was a bit too plodding for me. The language is of a Shakespearian style which means that the over-wordiness can detract from the sense of adventure.
William is accompanied by two friends and they should all be returning to England to pass on the information they have gleaned. However his mistress dies, he is bereft and the three friends become temporarily separated.
Meanwhile, duke's daughter, Aemilia is determined to marry her cousin for love rather than the count she has been promised to.
Events conspire to lead all the characters to join a band of outlaws and suddenly they are all embroiled in a battle. The finale leads to a number of deaths which almost serves to leave everyone murdered bar the main characters.
Despite all the action I found this book hard going - it would probably have benefited from a massive word cull and a pitch towards the YA market.