Customer Reviews

The Gentleman Poet: A Novel of Love, Danger, and Shakespeare's The Tempest

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This is a unique gem of a book. Johnson envisions a plausible history for William Shakespeare and his inspiration for The Tempest while rendering the intimate story of Elizabeth Persons, a servant shipwrecked in Bermuda along with her demanding mistress and a potentially mutinous group of soldiers and sailors en route to Jamestown for the Virginia Company. The luscious setting of the Bermuda islands provides more than a backdrop as Elizabeth uses native plants and herbs to create culinary magic and provide a sense of comfort and civilization to her fellow survivors, few of whom she trusts. It's an engaging story, beautifully written and hard to put down. This is a very satisfying read, and you will find yourself thinking about it long after you've turned the last page. I can't wait to see what's next for this promising author.

As you know, I am a really big history and historical fiction fan. Also, even though I studied American history, I LOVE everything British especially their rich history which, don't tell anyone, I think is FAR more interesting than most American stuff. This book actually manages to combine both of these interests. The story is a wonderful blend of early American history, British history and the inspiration for one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, The Tempest.

The story is from the point of view Elizabeth, a servant girl, and gives a wonderful insight to how classes don't seem to matter once everyone is shipwrecked. I really loved her character as she struggles with her past identity and begins to create a new one in the New World. There is a lot of historical talk about the relationship between Catholics and Protestants and Elizabeth's loyalty to her parents but at the same time wanting to start afresh. Also equally as important is her being able to find love amid everything else that is going on. I adored that part of the story of watching the relationship grow even as everything else around them was uncertain.

For some reason when I started reading this book, I kept thinking it was going to be about Twelfth Night. Therefore for the first few chapters, I was horribly confused and kept wondering where people who represented Viola and Orsino. Then I finally realized "Doh! Wrong Shakespeare comedy that starts with a T!". After that it was smooth sailing (har har) from there. I really enjoyed having Shakespeare's character in the actual story. I kept picturing Joseph Fiennes, who played Shakespeare in Shakespeare in love, moving throughout the island and befriending Elizabeth. It was very interesting learning about his history and how the author perceived his relationship with his wife and children. Also interesting was the brief talk about the possible identity of the Fair Youth of his sonnets.

Even if you take away any reference to Shakespeare or "The Tempest" the story stands alone as a wonderful interpretation of what life was like for early colonists. Therefore if you don't know the plot of "The Tempest" at all, you won't be lost when reading this book. There is a lot of historical detail that makes the setting and characters come alive. It was interesting to see how the upper class, such as Mistress Horton, desperately tried to cling to their status even though they were now at the same level as the lowest servants. There are recipes in the book based on the dishes that Elizabeth made for the settlement, but as the author notes in the back, don't attempt to make them! It's quite interesting how much food was able to be made just using the natural resources on the island plus the meager offerings from the ship's supplies. This is the ultimate Survivor where the reward is not a million dollars, but just the knowledge of staying alive for another day.

This book was absolutely lovely to read. The story is beautifully written. There is humor in this book as well as deep emotional drama. There are scenes where I felt so incredibly sad for the characters and others where I cheered at their discoveries. Even though there is an abundance of Shakespeare related movies already out there, I could easily see this book being made into a movie as well. This book is going to be one of my top 10 historical reads of the year. VERY highly recommended.

This book starts off with a tempest at sea so realistic I was immediately transported to the time and place of the story. A hard standard to uphold, but the author manages to do so continuously throughout the novel. Without trite formulas, stock characters, or predictable plot, the story artistically combines adventure, love, and friendship. A great read, and my book club loved it.

I saw this interesting title and it seemed worth giving the story a shot. The book by Kathryn Johnson was a fast moving, interestingly plotted story. I not only finished the book, but I sent a copy of the book to an avid fellow reader and she equally enjoyed it.

The Gentleman Poet is as engaging as the author herself. Kathryn Johnson came to our book club to share her passion for this lovely novel, and she was interesting and enthusiastic. I liked the novel the first time, but even more after listening to her. She has written over 40 novels under various pen names, but this is the first she published under her own name. Although marketed as adult historical fiction, the book has also been embraced by the young adult audience winning the 2011 Booksellers' Best Award for young adult fiction.


Kathryn Johnson became intrigued with a gap in Shakespeare history, a time when Shakespeare is unaccounted for in England and a man named William Strachey survived a shipwreck. His accounts of the shipwreck are eerily similar to Shakespeare's The Tempest, the last play Shakespeare wrote alone according to historians. Coincidence? Not in the author's eyes.

The story centers on Elizabeth Persons, a young servant girl traveling on a ship heading to Jamestown and the New World. She has already survived family tragedy, and now finds herself shipwrecked in the Bermudas with an overbearing mistress and people frantically trying to survive.

She is immediately drawn to a reclusive poet named Will. He spends his days journaling the passengers' attempts at survival. He senses a story in Elizabeth and takes her under his wing. His concern for her leads to matchmaking and a desire to see Elizabeth end up with Thomas, the ship's cook. Elizabeth soon discovers two things: Will is actually William Shakespeare, and she's worthy of love and Thomas. Through her relationship with both men, Elizabeth finds herself and becomes determined to control her own destiny.

Don't let the title fool you. This is a love story and tale of survival, the character of William Shakespeare serves only as a catalyst. Historical fiction, romance and young adult readers will all enjoy the tale. Shakespeare fans, too, as they will appreciate the reference to his works. Each chapter begins with a quote from one of his plays.

There are moments of laughter, tears, fear and applause. Women everywhere will celebrate Elizabeth, a strong woman before her time, one that cannot be held down by circumstance. You will laugh with her, cheer for her and cry with her in the end.

This novel has it all: adventure, Shakespeare, romance, survival, sadness. The story of the shipwreck of the Sea Venture and the subsequent survival of its crew is fascinating and told in engrossing detail. You will certainly be hard-pressed to put this book down. It is a fast read that can be finished in one day and leaves you wanting to know more.

The story is told from the first person of Elizabeth and you feel all of her fear, frustrations and sadness. We get to experience through her the terror of a ship being tossed like a toy in a raging storm, we learn what it is like to be one of a handful of women on an island dominated by men, and we learn what it is like to come into our own as a woman. The other characters of the novel were well developed and I very much enjoyed the character who we later discover is Shakespeare. I loved how the author used this experience as the fodder behind Shakespeare's later play. It gave you a sort of behind-the-scenes access.

I had never read anything before that takes place in the very start of colony life. These survivors really had to start from the ground up and figure out how to survive. One of the things that Elizabeth does is discover what plants are good to eat and brings them back to the camp. Also, as this colony is on Bermuda you really get the sense of fear and mysticism that surrounds this island - you learn a lot of this from the superstitious sailors.

The only issue I had with the book was with the ending. The whole novel builds up to this ultimate event and then in just a few short pages things change and the story ends. I felt a little let down because what you had been hoping for all along finally happens and then something happens which basically makes you feel like everything leading up to it was for naught and then it ends. I think if there had been maybe 20 more pages to frame out the ending I would have been more satisfied.

However, I truly did love this book and would encourage all to read it if you enjoy a good adventure story. You really don't have to know anything about The Tempest to enjoy it - I didn't read the play until after the novel - which encouraged me to seek out the original work.

I loved this book from start to finish..It was an informative and easy read..I like how Kathryn named chapters too, and actually learned more about Shakespeare's works because of the setup...It's obvious that a lot of research had been done..I loved the characters and got a real feel for who & what they were about..If you like adventure & romance then I strongly suggest this book...

A great read - some mystery, some history, some romance. I was personally interested because forebearers of mine came to the U.S. by way of Bermuda. The Shakespears connection (or not) is intriguing. Kind of fun to think that it might have been so. She (the author) clearly did her homework on the historical stuff, and had to do a bunch of botanical research as well. It's a quick read - and one that you might want to read again soon to pick up those little details that you missed the first time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Talk about history coming alive and in such a unique way. I won't summarize the plot here as others have done that. I just want to say this was a clever and thoroughly satisfying read. I won't more like this from Kathryn Johnson, who truly knows history and knows how to weave through an entertaining story. More classic poets, please! What's next? The Brownings seem like the perfect pair! Or how about George Sand?!

Oh to be stranded on a balmy island with William Shakespeare. Immediately, one thinks of The Tempest - with its sorcery and monsters and being at the mercy of elements.

In 1609, a raging tempest deposits the Venture and its passengers onto an island in the Bermudas. Shipwrecked and far from civilization and the constraints of London society, the passengers struggle to maintain order and rules. For young servant girl, Elizabeth, it is a chance to use her gift for herbs and cooking and discover a braver, more confident self. The road to self-discovery in the middle of wild paradise is impeded, however, by a dangerous family secret, one that bonds her with the mysterious poet-historian, Will Strachey (Shakespeare in disguise).

Despite the title, The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson is more about Elizabeth than Shakespeare. Like The Tempest, the wise and curious Will Strachey is Prospero to Elizabeth's Miranda. He counsels her in ways of the heart, how to take risks and open herself to possibilities. Cautious and timid Elizabeth blooms in the aftermath of the shipwreck - becoming a heroine that could have possibly inspired a Shakespearean play.

This entertaining tale boasts solid writing and a new perspective on an older, more mature William Shakespeare - what secrets he may have kept and his motivations.

"'I suppose I dreamt of faraway lands, such as those about which I have always written but never seen with my own eyes...I have always written about great moments, in history or imagination. I have provided for my audience grand and daring adventures, but I have never lived them!'"

I loved the descriptions of the island paradise and how the stranded passengers tried to retain a semblance of civilization, sometimes unsuccessfully. There are darker moments, when inevitably the monstrous side of human nature emerges - akin to Caliban. I was also intrigued by some of the political issues that Johnson wove into The Gentleman Poet to give depth to both Elizabeth and Will's characters. But this is balanced by an enchanting love story evocative of The Tempest.