Customer Reviews

Five Star First Edition Mystery - Murder In Stratford: As Told By Anne Hathaway Shakespeare

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Stratford upon Avon, though she is several years older than Will Shakespeare, who works in his father's Glover shop, he courts and marries Anne Hathaway. Over the next few years, they seem happy together though Will who studied law was bored. When he had an opportunity to join a traveling troupe, he leaves his spouse and children behind though he sends money and visits infrequently.

Will's fame as a writer begins to grow, but on one of his trips home, his boyhood pal, the odious arrogant Richard Quiney, who even tried to boorishly seduce his friend's wife Anne, is murdered. The corpse is found in the Shakespeare garden. The constable assumes Will, being cuckold, killed the man in a crime of passion. Anne believes otherwise and is determined to prove her spouse is innocent. As the list of those with motives to kill the loathsome Richard seems to grow, almost as if the entire town and surrounding villagers had a reason to murder him, the killer watches Anne to insure she does not get to close to the truth.

MURDER IN STRATFORD is as much an amateur sleuth tale as it is a historical fiction novel. The story line is told from the perspective of Anne but not just about the who-done-it but her life even before Will courts her. This enables the audience to obtain a full picture of her and much insight into the Bard. Her investigation is fun to follow but takes a back seat to her life's story so much so that Shakespeare lovers and the Elizabethan crowd will appreciate this fine tale more so than those who prefer a pure mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Anne, the wife of William Shakespeare, recounts her life with him from their marriage in 1582 to his death in 1616. Her observations mainly center on her relationship with Will since she most often was tucked away in the country town of Stratford while he followed his calling in London. The murder occurs toward the end of the story when an attractive but unpleasant neighbor, Richard Quiney, is killed in Shakespeare's garden. Will is accused of the deed, leaving Anne to figure out who, among all those who held a grudge against Richard, was the real perpetrator.

Although we know little about the historic Anne, Peterson illustrates some of the obstacles Elizabethen period women faced. Upon marriage, a wife could not control her own money and property, and girls had little access to the type of formal education available to boys. On a whole, however, the book reads more like a fictionalized history lesson than engaging literary piece. While it is full of interesting details of, for example, the life of company actors and the London theaters, or the schemes of various known personalities, the rich flavor of the time does not come to life. Often the characters use modern or 19th century working class speech expressions. And the insertion of Anne's opinions and her synopsis of many of Shakespeare's plays sound like the comments of an English teacher rather than his country wife.

In her short Afterword, Peterson refers us to a book by Ian Wilson, "Shakespeare: The Evidence," to find out "what's true and what isn't" in the story. It would have been more useful if she had provided this information for us herself.

The author finds a role for about everyone in Shakespeare's life: Anne Hathaway, his three children, the Earl of Southampton, the Earl of Essex, Queen Elizabeth, and the dark lady of the sonnets among others. Hamlet's play-within-the-play, the hints of homosexuality in the sonnets and Essex's attempted coup all appear. Bardolaters can compare the way they see Shakespeare with the author's view.