In Mistress Shakespeare, Elizabethan beauty Anne Whateley reveals intimate details of her dangerous, daring life and her great love, William Shakespeare.

As historical records show, Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton is betrothed to Will just days before he is forced to wed the pregnant Anne Hathaway of Shottery. The clandestine Whateley/Shakespeare match is a meeting of hearts and heads that no one - not even Queen Elizabeth or her spymasters - can destroy. From rural Stratford-upon-Avon to teeming London, the passionate pair struggles to stay solvent and remain safe from Elizabeth I's campaign to hunt down secret Catholics, of whom Shakespeare is rumored to be a part.

Often at odds, always in love, the couple sells Will's first plays and, as he climbs to theatrical power in Elizabeth's England, they fend off fierce competition from rival London dramatists, ones as treacherous as they are talented. Persecution and plague, insurrection and inferno, friends and foes, even executions of those they hold dear, bring Anne's heartrending story to life.

Spanning half a century of Elizabethan and Jacobean history and sweeping from the lowest reaches of society to the royal court, this richly textured novel tells the real story of Shakespeare in love.

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Product details

Listening Length	11 hours and 36 minutes
Author	Karen Harper
Narrator	Anne Flosnik
Audible.com.au Release Date	05 February 2009
Publisher	Brilliance Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NZ9Q03E
Best Sellers Rank	200,695 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 7,505 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) 11,597 in Historical Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) 43,326 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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lawyeraau

THE MUSE TELLS ALL...

Reviewed in the United States on 8 February 2021

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This was definitely an ambitious work of historical fiction. It is centered around an old mystery of whether William Shakespeare had actually contracted to wed another woman, just a day before he contracted to wed Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant with his child. That other woman is Anne Whateley, and this first person narrative is her story.

I have to say that there were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but there were other parts that served as an irritant and made me take pause as to whether I could finish reading the book. I definitely loved the painstaking care given to the historical details woven in the narrative throughout the book that gave the book much authenticity of time and place. I was less enamored of Anne Whateley for any number of reasons. Still, the reader will understand why it was that Shakespeare bequeathed his wife his second best bed in his will, a bequest that I had always thought odd, but less so now after reading this book.

Still fans of the author, as well those who are enamored of the bard will find something to enjoy in this book, as will fans of Elizabethan history. I myself did get a modicum of enjoyment from reading the book, though it fell below my initial high expectations.

Richard Askenase

Delightful fiction about Shakespeare's secret lover!!

Reviewed in the United States on 3 November 2011

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Anne Whately has been William Shakespeare's girlfriend and lover since they were children in Stratford on Avon, through until his death. This is the premise of this delightful novel, written as a first person narrative by Anne. The story includes some early incidents in Stratford and, of course, his life in London as the great playwrite.

I am not a fan of first person novels, but this one was very well done with a sweeping and moving account of her life with Will. Included are the key characters in his London life- Chistopher Marlowe (fellow playwrite), James and Richard Burbage (theater owner and actor), and Queen Elizabeth (as a distant character, never involved in the direct story-telling). All lends great legitimacy and interest to this novel.

My wife and I have been attending about 6 Shakepeare plays a year for the past 8 years or so, most by a company in Boston called the Actor's Shakespeare Project. So, we have really gotten to enjoy the plays, and are fascinated by the mysterious Shakespeare. He is mysterious because so little is actually known about him, or tangible evidence of him (letters, scripts, etc). Recently there has been a growth in stories about Shakespeare, most especially the terrific movie Shakespeare In Love . Robert Brustein, founder of the American Reporatory Theater in Cambridge, MA, has written a three play trilogy about Shakespeare's life. We have seen the first two and enjoyed them as well, The last will be performed next year in New York.

This was a really enjoyable book that I could not put down. AND, you do NOT have to be familiar with the plays to enjoy it.

The Kindle edition is fine with no typos- BUT there are extra large breaks between the paragraphs and chapters which is a little annoying.

4 people found this helpful

Cookin'inFl

Sorry

Reviewed in the United States on 15 April 2018

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Not engrossing enough. A slow read and did not even complete the book.

One person found this helpful

Karen Simonson

Another wonderful historical novel by Karen Harper

Reviewed in the United States on 2 June 2017

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As all her historical novels, this is excellent!

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on 18 November 2013

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Nice story. Behind every successful man is a complicated, smart, resourceful woman.
I can see how many of his books come from his own life encounters. OR how this book came from his many books. Whatever... I highly enjoyed it.

One person found this helpful

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