Did you know that there is a possibility that Shakespeare had two wives? I had no idea. I'd known about his marriage to Anne Hathaway, and that it wasn't a happy one, but the idea of another marriage took me by surprise. It seems that in the same wedding registry, William Shakespeare had a license to wed two women: Anne Whately and Anne Hathaway. His marriage to Hathaway happened only a day after his approved license to wed Whately. So, was Shakespeare married twice in two days, or did something else happen? That is what Mistress Shakespeare is about.
Mistress Shakespeare is Anne Whately's narrative of the events of her life, and her relationship with William Shakespeare. She provides a peek into her life with him, and his work in London on his way to becoming the most famous playwright in English history. Now this is all fictional, but it's interesting to note that given the registry, and the fact that Shakespeare spent most of his time in London (and Hathaway never moved there with him), it's very likely that Anne Whately could have been his "London wife."
I liked Mistress Shakespeare for a number of reasons. The first, and possibly most important considering what happened with Sons of Fortune, is the writing style. Harper combines a bit of Shakespeare's English with modern spelling, while still keeping the prose interesting and well written. The whole novel flowed easily, and I enjoyed reading it. I don't think there was a single sentence that I could fault, and it was GREAT that there was no skipping about in the plot; each scene followed the one that had come before, and they all made sense.
I also liked the depth of the character development in Anne Whately. Anne, in the novel, is a very strong woman. She is born to be different from her neighbors, because her mother was Italian, and her father, English. This immediately sets her apart, but her strength shows in her reaction to events early in her life. As a teenager, her dear friend Kat commits suicide, and Anne stands up for her in court, to see that Kat is buried in the churchyard, instead of at the crossroads. She is able to convince a court that Kat's death was an accident. I could see her determination, intelligence, and how deeply she cared in this scene. Another difficulty in Anne's life was the loss of her parents. She loses her mother when she is 3 or 4 years old, and her father dies when she is about 18. Unlike what many women of the age would do in her situation, Anne doesn't marry to ensure that she doesn't end up in poverty. Rather, she takes a partnership in her father's business and moves to London. As the business prospers, Anne becomes rather wealthy in her own right, and her money is really her own. It was almost a fiscal blessing that her marriage to Shakespeare wasn't officially recognized. Anne even tries to protect the reputation of Will's family, when she has no obligation to. She's as unique a woman as Queen Elizabeth, both of whose lives were slightly unfair.
Her relationship with Shakespeare was interesting as well. Technically, she and Will were formally married, and their priest was a witness, but they kept it secret. The day after, it was discovered that Anne Hathaway was pregnant by Will, and they were forced to marry to save Hathaway's reputation. Instead of ruining Shakespeare's character and family reputation, Anne doesn't expose his double marriage, but accepts it on behalf of their unborn daughter. Anne goes through various stages of loving and hating Shakespeare. She hates him for dallying with another woman, when his heart belonged to Anne alone, but she loves him for being willing to support their own marriage, if Hathaway hadn't become pregnant. She tries to forget him when he goes to London, but she can't stop promoting his dreams of becoming an actor and playwright. There were some occasions where Anne was determined to move on with her life, but somehow, she can't seem to forget about Shakespeare, and she starts the whole cycle of "I love him, and loathe him, but I still want to be with him" all over again".
As the two of them get older, Will spends more time in London, having made a deal with his wife that they can have separate lives, as long as Will sends her money. After this deal, Will can be with Anne as much as he wants, and they almost get to live the life they would have had. They still have to be careful not to tarnish Will's vulnerable reputation; no one can know that he has a legal wife other than Hathaway. Yet, as the years go by, their love grows, and they become closer than ever. The only part of the novel that bothered me was Will's extreme jealousy. He will hear that Anne has spoken to a man, and he believes that she's slept with him, no matter how Anne tries to convince him otherwise. In fact, her devotion to Will, in that she never marries and never has an affair, are hard to believe. She even stands by him when her own life could be in danger. I can't imagine that happening in today's world. Theirs is a relationship that is hard to fathom, but lovely to think about.
All in all, Mistress Shakespeare was a wonderful novel. I learned something new about Shakespeare's life (even if it can't be proved for certain), and I got to read a charming love story, peppered with history. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good story of love conquering (nearly) all. This novel was sweet, but filled with danger, and many of the lessons Anne learns in life, still hold true today. I will definitely read this again.
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