The True Prince [Paperback]

J. B. Cheaney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2004 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Intrigue abounds both on and off the stage in this rollicking mystery set within Shakespeare’s theater company.
Kit Glover is London’s finest boy actor. Audiences flock to see him portray imperious queens and scheming noblewomen. But off the stage Kit’s manner is harder to make out. Now cool and disdainful, next fierce and angry, then madcap and bawdy–his personality changes so rapidly and so often that fellow actor Richard is unsure which is the real Kit, or if his true nature is something else again.
But Richard is certain of one thing: Kit is involved with some nefarious companions– much like young Prince Hal in Shakespeare’s latest play, Henry IV. And Richard suspects that these low companions are behind a series of crimes that could cost the company its good standing and could cost Kit his head.
And so, reluctantly, Richard allows himself to be drawn into the conspiracy to help his rival–this fascinating, infuriating, troubled prince of a boy, teetering on the brink of becoming either a king . . . or a criminal.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The exuberant world of Elizabethan theater once again takes center stage in Cheaney's latest tale of suspense (after The Playmaker). Since he first began his apprenticeship to the theater company known as Lord Hunsdon's Men, Richard Malory has had a combative relationship with haughty Kit Glover, widely known as the best boy player in London. Things only get thornier when Richard takes it upon himself to protect the company's newest apprentice, an enigmatic Welsh boy, and it appears that at least one of Richard's fellow actors is in cahoots with an outlaw, dubbed "the New Robin Hood" (popularized in ballads for tricking and robbing the political rivals of the Duke of Essex). Meanwhile, Master William Shakespeare, the company's playwright, has developed one of his most popular works yet: a pair of plays based on the life of King Henry IV. The author interweaves fascinating historical tidbits throughout (how actors used lead spoons as part of their make-up routine; every Englishman of the time was required to be a competent enough archer to defend his country in case of invasion; etc.). Despite some instances of heavy-handed plotting (the parallel drawn between troubled Kit's moral growth and Prince Hal's maturation seems forced, and the Robin Hood mystery is so convoluted that even one of the novel's characters describes it as "the sort of stagy plan a playmaker would devise"), only the dourest reader would pass up this breathless scramble of 16th-century London. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-Returning to the milieu and characters of The Playmaker (Knopf, 2000), Cheaney offers another historical thriller set amid the smoky taverns, dim alleys, and bright theaters of London in the late-16th century. Richard Malory, now 15, has finished a year's apprenticeship with William Shakespeare's acting company, and his performing skills have made him a serious rival to Kit Glover, resident golden boy. But the troupe has troubles: they are threatened with losing their theater, a patron's bad fortune means they are no longer The Admiral's Men but the less prestigious Lord Hunsdon's Men, and odd happenings are plaguing them. Who has forced their performance of an execrable anonymous play? Why is Kit courting bad company? What is the true nature of a mysterious new apprentice called "the Welsh Boy?" And why does all this interest a sinister secret agent? Richard and his intrepid pal Starling Shaw investigate, and are drawn unwillingly into perilous intrigues surrounding the throne of aging Queen Elizabeth I. Turbulent action, engaging characters, vivid period details, and a gripping denouement make this a worthy successor to the first book and inspire hopes for more to come.
Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (February 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440419409
• ISBN-13: 978-0440419402
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,049,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Renaissance

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True Prince, a worthy read, June 8, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The True Prince (Paperback)

True Prince, a worthy, but complicated read. Its plot is a complex one, with a sub plot joining the fray every other chapter. So I'll do my best to give you the gist of it. The book is about London's finest acting troop, with none other than William Shakespeare, yes the real one. Their first problem is that their play house is taken away, so they set off to find another one. 50 pages later they accomplish this task, before anyone has a chance to catch their breath from hauling everything from their old theater to the new one; a bitter rivalry is born between Kit and Davy, two aspiring boy actors. Kit being London's finest. The only thing keeping Kit from killing little Davy, is Richard, the books main character. While Richard is protecting Davy, he finds that the troop may be harboring a thief, Kit the main suspect. Apparently Cheaney felt that Shakespeare's cameo appearance needed a follow up, Robin Hood joins the melee of characters.

Some of the flaws in this book were that it had too many characters, around 20 of them, some with the same first or last name. It was also kind of long and could've moved a little faster, even take out some bits. Now, don't get me wrong, I did like this book, it did have its redeeming qualities. Being an actor I liked this book just because it was about theater, but not the plays themselves, but what happened behind the curtain, where the real drama is. Also, Cheaney is a fantastic writer of realistic fiction. It seems so real and all of the many characters are well developed.

My over all rating of this book is a four out of five stars, could've been shorted, but it was worth it

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Prince (aka Kit Glover, aka Prince Hal), May 25, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The True Prince (Paperback)

The True Prince is a wonderful book set in London somewhere in the 1600's. It is a mystery, wraped in a play, tied in a cursed web of lies,seen through the eyes of an aprentice of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and set in the mistery of a young man's life, a man who never had a childhood.

That mystery is Kit: Merchendise of his own father at six, actor of so many roles at eight,and, what is he now? Which role did he ever play as himself? Is he all of them? Or is he none?...

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Prince Review, October 20, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The True Prince (Paperback)

The book starts off with William Shakespeare's playgroup practicing a new play, "The House of Maximus", which happens to be on e of the worst plays invented. A new player, Davy, arrives with a mysterious Welsh man. When the "Putrid Play", as it was nicknamed, was performed, the audience hated the play more than the players, showing their contempt by throwing their lunch leftovers. The next day, Kit, one of the best boy players in London, was in a court session for fooling around with Peregrine Penny, a corruptor of youth. Kit's bail was payed by a mysterious donor. After the court session, The troup returned to the Theater to find it locked up by Giles Allen, the landlord. So, the troup moved to another theater named the Curtain. Many plays and lawsuits later, to defend the Welsh Boy, as Davy is called, Richard fights Kit in a boxing match. This is where Dacy is somewhat revealed as what he really is, a theif trying to frame Kit. "King Henry IV", a great play, is thought up and soon they are performing it in the Swan, another theater. They perform the play many times until the summer tour, where Kit leaves the company right before the tour. Upon returning, Richard is launched into solving a series of crimes committed by Kit and his theiving friends. Eventually, with the help of the detective's assisstant named Bartholomew Finch and a penny gatherer named Starling Shaw, Richard is led to the Theater once more, where a kidnapping takes place and the mystery is solved.

The previous posts did not lie. This is a great book and i recommend it to everyone who likes reading.