By Any Other Name
by Jodi Picoult
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Pub Date Aug 20 2024 | Archive Date Jun 30 2024
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Description
No.1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult brings to life the woman many believe was the real playwright behind the work of William Shakespeare alongside a contemporary story of a New York author suffering the same fate of being silenced.
Two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare's plays—are both forced to hide behind another name to make their voices heard.
In 1581, Emilia Bassano—like most young women of her day—is allowed no voice of her own. But as the Lord Chamberlain's mistress, she has access to all theatre in England, and finds a way to bring her work to the stage secretly. And yet, creating some of the world's greatest dramatic masterpieces comes at great cost: by paying a man for the use of his name, she will write her own out of history.
In the present, playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Although the challenges are different four hundred years later, the playing field is still not level for women in theatre. Would Melina—like Emilia—be willing to forfeit her credit as author, just for a chance to see her work performed?
Told in intertwining narratives, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire asks what price each woman is willing to pay to see their work live on—even if it means they will be forgotten.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781761471001 |
| PRICE | A$34.99 (AUD) |
| PAGES | 544 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Kate B, Reviewer
Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite authors, her dedication to a topic and hours of research are evident in all of her books and I find her writing style enjoyable, while still tackling tough and thought provoking topics.
By Any Other Name was very different to her normal books. It was clear that Jodi had put hours of research into this book and it made for incredible reading. I adored the flashbacks to Emilia's life and thought it was captured beautifully, spanning her lifetime, achievements, and many, many struggles. The history was written about wonderfully, with lovely imagery and snippets of true historic events.
Melina's story was also told well, with her own struggles, insights into her personal life and background. I didn't warm to her in the same way I warmed to Emilia but I still found myself rooting for her.
Both tales, interwoven with each other showed strong female characters, hardship and the struggles of being a woman in any time period. I loved the writing, the stories, the theatre elements, the friendships and relationships and the courage of both women.
I thought the ending tied everything up nicely and Jodi has done well with the diversity of the characters. It is vastly different to her usual contemporary / hot topic / crime solving books but she has absolutely nailed it. Even readers who are not normally fans of historical dramas will enjoy this. An easy 5 stars from me and 5 wishes that Jodi will do more books like this.
