Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this advanced reader's copy. I have read all of Jodi Picoult's book. I am a superfan and so when I hear there is another Picoult book coming out, I try to get my hands on it to read it as soon as possible. Picoult always writes about an important and relevant issue. This book is no exception. I have been aware of many women having to write under a man's name to get published. I was not aware of the idea that William Shakespeare, himself, did not write all those plays, but in fact, they were written by a woman. The theory being there is no way Shakespeare could have written such complex and beautiful female characters when he did not educate his own daughters and they were illiterate. While this story, of course, is historical fiction, the characters from the 1500-1600's are quite real as well as women having to submit writing under a pseudonym to get their work out into the world. "For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." Virginia Woolf

This book is about a playwright, named Melina "Mel" Green, who has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Emilia wrote many of the plays for Shakespeare as a way to make money to support herself and these were written based on what was going on in her life at the time, such as "As You Like It" or Romeo and Juliet". This book is told between the lives of Mel in present day and young Emilia's life through to her death. Some readers may not appreciate the Shakespeare prose scattered throughout, but it adds to the beauty of the story. Once again, Picoult tells a story filled with secrets and women empowerment with an issue at the crux of society.

By Any Other Name is an extraordinary story of a struggling playwright, Melina Green, who is having difficulty getting any of her work produced because of the fact that for the most part men dominate the industry. Through her father's genealogical studies, Melina finds out the is related to Emilia Bassano, who lived in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth's court, was the first female poet published in Elizabethan England, and who some believe might have been responsible for writing several poems and plays attributed to Shakespeare. At a young age Emilia was forced to become the consort of the queen's Lord Chamberlain, who was responsible for overseeing the theater productions for the queen's entertainment. He is kind to Emilia, and because of him Emilia is allowed more experience with literary endeavors, and begins to write for her own pleasure; at this time women were not allowed to have any literary voice of their own.
The story alternates between Melina's struggles to have her work be heard, and all of the trials and tribulations of Emilia's life and her pursuit of having her work heard by allowing it to be presented in Shakespeare's name. Emilia secretly gets help in that direction by Christopher Marlowe who appreciates her talent and determination, and Melina gets a boost from her best friend Andre who submits her play under a false name and then reluctantly pretends to be the author when it is selected to be performed. Both young women go through so many twists and turns and suffer setbacks and losses to get their voices heard, proving that even centuries later, women still struggle in many ways to have their work be known. There is so much more to the story than I have related here, everything makes these two women fully realized characters that the reader knows and cares for.

I've enjoyed so many Jodi Picoult books and was eager to dive into this one. It's a bit different than her others, but her characters are still rich and relatable. Emilia and Melina are powerful women looking for their place in the playwrighting world, one during Shakespeare's time and one modern-day. Melina discovers she's a distant relative of Emilia's and dives into her history.
Picoult makes it easy to switch between characters and times. It's evident Picoult did an incredible amount of research to tell the story of how Shakespeare may have had some help with his own plays.
I would recommend the book to friends who enjoy Picoult's writing, and those who are interested in Shakespearean themes.

I love reading Jodi Picoult books. This was very different from her normal topics and was a bit difficult to get into for me. I did enjoy the history and greatly appreciate the opportunity to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I will recommend it to my book club as we love to discuss books that bring great discussions and opinions.

Jodi Picoult never fails to amaze me and i have been reading her books since I was a teenager and i love that she went a different direction with her newest novel and have to admit that it was equally as great as her older books!

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this novel, since Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. To me, this was a very different novel for Ms. Picoult. I love historical fiction and dual timeline stories, so this one ticked all of the boxes for me. I had heard the idea of Shakespeare possibly not writing all of the plays credited to him, but the idea of a woman (Emilia Bassano) possibly being the author of some of his works was intriguing. I had not heard of Emilia Bassano before reading this novel and as I always do with books involving real people, I did some research to learn more about her. I also found the author's note at the end quite interesting. While I really enjoyed the book, I found that I liked the chapters about Emilia Bassano much more than the chapters in the modern timeline. It was a solid 4 stars for me.

I’ll admit it’s been over a decade since I read anything by Jodi Picoult. She was my favorite author in high school after reading My Sister’s Keeper for English class & I was even fortunate enough to interview her for a piece I wrote for the school paper.

I am so glad that I jumped back into reading her material and look forward to catching up on some of the books I have been missing out on.

Up to this point I had always brushed off the conspiracy theories that people spouted remarking that William Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays - even my husband has repeated this to me before and I never humored it in the slightest…but after reading this piece, I am 100% a believer. I believe that many of Shakespeare’s plays were written by women and it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment or appreciation for the work that was published under his name.

In this work of fiction - Picoult gives us dual POV between Melina in 2023 and Emilia in the 1500s. The two are distant relatives who are both playwrights. Melina writes a play about Emilia being one of the many women who had their plays published by Shakespeare during a time when women weren’t able to publish written works. There is so much compelling evidence within this piece - the reader can tell that this is a topic Picoult has strong feelings about. The book actually ends at 92% and there’s still 35+ minutes left of reading where you learn about Picoult’s perspective and motivation behind this piece.

I loved going back and forth between Melina and Emilia - I can’t choose which story I preferred. Both of them tugged at my heart and had me on an emotional rollercoaster filled with tears, rage, and laughter. You’ll have to pick this one up and experience it for yourself.


I would recommend this movie to folks who enjoyed the Barbie movie — if you loved the Barbie movie there’s no way you won’t love this feminist masterpiece just as much.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read this one prior it its release - Jodi Picoult is consistent with the quality of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll be honest, this just wasn’t my bag, baby. I knew it wouldn’t be from reading the description, but I wanted to give it a chance because in general I love Jodi Picoult. Some of her books have been too research-heavy for me - the one about wolves and the one about elephants come to mind - and this one definitely falls into that category as well. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is great and it’s clear she has a knack for doing research. But plot-wise, it just didn’t do it for me. I’m still giving it three stars because again, the writing itself was very good, and I did somewhat enjoy the plot set in present-day.

Well. Jodi Picault has officially written my most favorite book of 2023. I’ve read so many of her books over the years. And to write in a totally different genre (historical fiction) and do it just beautifully is a treat for this reader. Two time threads , each intriguing, make this a delight. If you’re a lover of Shakespeare, Ms Picaut’s take of true authorship of the plays is a tribute to the women who remained hidden in the depths of history. Read this and see!

I feel that Jodi is one of our best living writers. Her novels are always about compelling narratives and are well researched.
This one was skower than normal but still very good and I like the dual timelines
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. I love author Jodi Picoult’s work, but unfortunately this one was just not for me. It got off to a slow start and I could not seem to retain interest as it switched between timelines. I guess if you are a big Shakespeare fan it will hit the right notes. This one went in my didn’t finish pile. I will try it again when I have less on my mind.

Every time Jodi Picoult has a new book out, I am so excited. This was another wonderful addition to the collection. The thing I enjoy about her books is the connection to something (in this case Shakespeare) in different points in time. Thank so much for the opportunity to read this one.

By Any Other Name is a dual timeline novel that introduces the reader to a young playwright named Melina and a woman named Emilia living in the time of Shakespeare. This novel deals with the barriers women face in society both hundreds of years ago and today. It was a great read and thought provoking.

This book made me think in ways I hadn’t ever imagined. What if everything we think we know isn’t what it seems? What if, the one author whose name is attributed to the most influential words in history, isn’t really the author? What if these characters resonate so much, across time, because they were written by many, including some women whose characters just might be among the most memorable scholars of all-time? Let Jodi Picoult, Emilia Bassano, and Melina Green take you in a journey that will nudge you to reconsider everything you think you know about the Bard and what it means to use one’s voice to plant seeds for a different future.

I've read many Jodi Picoult books that took a while to get into but this one was just so slow that about half way through, it went into my DNF (did not finish) list. The premise interested me - a dual timeline story with the first timeline featuring a young playwright, Melina, who is having trouble getting her plays performed because of her sex, and the second timeline taking place during the Elizabethan period with young playwright Emilia hiring William Shakespeare to claim to be the writer of her work. Unfortunately, the writing just didn't work for me. Life is too short to read books I don't enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Like any other Jodi Picoult book, you, the reader have to grasp the topic at hand and be present, her books are never an easy read, nor does she shy away from uncomfortable topics.. In this case, the master bard Shakespeare's work being penned mostly by a woman, when woman were not allowed to be playwrights nor even the actors on the stage playing women, men dressed up and portrayed women. A lot of this speculation I was aware of, however the deep dive of possibilities of Emilia Bassano being the brains, and charm and wit behind the Shakespeare was so enormous an undertaking that it seemed impossible, yet it could have been. All Jodi Picoult books require the reader to be as invested in the book as she was in writing it, to think for yourself and make your own determinations, but this one I felt was a huge ask, to discount everything we have been taught for centuries. I have always questioned things and this answers some questions and brings some new questions up. I loved this book. I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan and will read everything she writes, but somehow it seems like the rabbit hole has not only gotten larger but has changed dimension and location. In a word for this book, Wow! I have insomnia and this is not the best book to pick up in the middle of the night, for you know you will not rest easy. Thank you to Ms. Picoult for another great read and of thoughts that still need to be processed.

10/10, Once again Jodi Picoult had me in a chokehold. By Any Other Name made me both laugh and cry at turns, and is an excellent piece of historical fiction set in the Elizabethan era. Anyone who has spent time immersed in literature is aware that there is a question of whether or not Shakespeare truly authored all (or even any) of his works. Picoult introduces us to Emilia, a daughter of musicians in Elizabeth I’s court, who chose to be memorialized by her words rather than in name. Her resilience and fierce strength in the face of the countless challenges of her gender, her station in life, and her religion were more than admirable. Her story hooked me from the onset, and was such a different path than any other novel that I’ve read by Jodi Picoult (and I’ve made it through 90% of her work!). I will say, By Any Other Name does drag a bit at the 60-70% mark, it’s so well worth the payout. Thank you to NetGalley, Jodi Picoult, and Ballantine Books for an ARC of By Any Other Name!

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

This was a fascinating read for me. I love historical fiction, and the ideas this planted in my mind are … crazy. LOL Both Emilia and Melina are well-developed, relatable characters with compelling stories. I appreciate how this book deals with current topics like gender equality while doing so in a beautiful and believable way. I really enjoyed this gem!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

While I ALWAYS love Jodi Picoult, this was not one of my favorites. The alternating timelines is not my choice for how to read/tell a story, and it fell flat in many places for me. THat said, I STILL enjoyed it, and know our patrons will also!

I have been a big fan of Jodi Picoult for a very long time. Kudos to her for writing something different, clever and unexpected. I have never been a Shakespeare fan but thought I would at least try to learn something. I learned a fair amount.. Unfortunately I lost interest midway.