One of three novels on Shakespeare written by Mr. Nye (the others being the highly-regarded [b:Falstaff|512061|Falstaff|Robert Nye|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1175399700s/512061.jpg|2432325] and the delightful [b:The Late Mr. Shakespeare|30089|The Late Mr. Shakespeare|Robert Nye|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1168051309s/30089.jpg|2771092]), this is perhaps the least of the three, although I still enjoyed it. Written as a diary entry from the point of view of Shakespeare's wife Anne, after his death, the work is highly irreverent and profane, and often interested in presenting the thoroughly human side of this often deified writer. Sometimes, this goal obscures anything else the novel seems to want to do, and perhaps the fact that the entire book is a diary of one person's perspective makes it a tad repetitive. Some readers - probably mostly Americans - will struggle with some of the gleeful profanity, and perhaps even just the dismantling of the modern era's apotheosis of the Bard.

At the same time, I really enjoyed this work, particularly with its attempt to somewhat redeem Anne. There remains an unusual critical distaste for the woman, with the popular view for decades being that the Bard was tricked into marriage, or disliked his home life. There's plenty to argue otherwise, and Nye allows us to believe most all of the other rumours about Will (from the fair youth of the Sonnets to some fundamental marital disconnects) without completely sacrificing the Shakespeares' love.

Indeed, I particularly revelled in one of the conclusions the novel comes to about a particular question looming over Shakespeare's works, and overall found this book to be an inventive and authentic treat. Will delight Bardolaters much more than everyday readers. ( )

Summary: Mrs. Shakespeare, now widowed, recollects her one trip to London to visit her famous bard husband- deconstructing the man, the myth, the image. Anne's no poet- she's down-to-earth, unlearned, bawdy, and clever all on her own terms- unveiling a William who is the vain, romantic, dishonest, slippery, posing, fragile man of her love.

Review: Nye manages to create a truly funny heroine and some very laugh out loud moments of the punny kind. Probably interesting to Shakespeare enthusiasts who have pondered his mostly undocumented private and family life. To the rest of us, there's still lots of clever discourse on the relationships between wife and husband & life and art.

Ultimately, however, the story is pretty one-note, and the later third is basically all sexual fetishist category and not particularly interesting to the rest of us. ( )

bookshelves: currently-reading, radio-4x, amusing, autumn-2013, published-1993
Recommended to ☯Bettie☯ by: Brazilliant Laura


The Bard's shrewd wife reveals how he left her his second-best bed. Stars Maggie Steed and Kenneth Cranham.

Listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jxb4

3* The Late Mr. Shakespeare
3* Mrs. Shakespeare ( )