Everyone knows the story of William Shakespeare—the famed poet, actor, and playwright who revolutionized English literature forever. There have been a series of debates about whether or not Shakespeare truly wrote the plays or someone else did. Well, what if a group of women employed William Shakespeare as a sort of spokesperson for their plays? Can this group of women survive to write another day? This is the premise of DJ Nix’s novel. “The Shakespeare Secret.”

I would like to thank Alcove Press and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. I have not read a lot of novels about the writing of Shakespeare’s plays, but I have heard the many theories on who actually wrote them. When I saw that this novel would focus on a group of women as the so-called authors of the plays, it was such a fun idea that I decided to give it a go.

So, just who were these three women who were the authors of the plays? We begin with Mary Herbet, Countess of Pembroke, who has just returned to the court of Queen Elizabeth I after a three-year absence. She is not one for court life, but she soon finds herself enjoying the company of others below her station. Take, for example, Emilia Bassano, a court musician and mistress to Lord Chamberlain, Baron Hunsdon. And then we have Jane Daggett, the new Mistress of the Wardrobe for the Queen’s Men, a company that was the starting point for a young Will Shakespeare. One fateful day, these three women met and decided to write a play, which would become known as The Taming of the Shrew. Since this was a group of women writing a play, they needed a man to act as their spokesperson to make sure that their play would be performed. Enter young Will Shakespeare, who wanted to make a name for himself.

It seems like such an innocent prospect, that is, until Robert Cecil and his spy Hardwood catch wind of what they think is a Catholic plot against Queen Elizabeth I. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Now, Mary, Emilia, and Jane must escape suspicion while navigating life, love, and playwriting, with Will along for the ride. This was a relatively predictable plot, and I felt a bit bored by the middle of this novel. While the characters are well written, it is hard for me to imagine this group of women together and using the formal Shakespearean dialogue. Other than the few historical characters and locations, it does not feel like Elizabethan England (especially with the mention of tea).

Overall, it’s an okay novel, but it could have been better. The premise had a lot of potential, but it kind of turned into a sappy ending, which is not a bad thing, but I wanted more. If you want a novel about the alternative history of the writing of the early Shakespearean plays, you might enjoy “The Shakespeare Secret” by DJ Nix.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I found this book to be delightful. I have read a number of books, both fiction and non fiction, regarding the premise that William Shakespeare did not write his plays. Most often, I have heard the name Francis Bacon, but this book brings an intriguing supposition. the plays were the work of 3 women, Mary Sydney, Countess of Pembroke, Emilia Bassano, a court musician ad courtesan and Jane Daggett, a seamstress. The story is a fun rollicking tale of Elizabethean England, with court intrigue, spies, plots and the Plague. The story takes very real characters and mixes them with some that may or may not have existed, but does it in a way that is enjoyable and interesting. As a side note, I recently read a book on a similar topic,By Any Other Name. While I also enjoyed it, Ifar peferred this one.

A chance meeting brings three women together in the warmroom of London's Whitehall Palace. Mary, a writer, Emilia, a musician and Jane, a seamstress have just watched another mediocre stage play and are convinced they can write a better version. Needless to say, in 1592's Elizabethan court there's no way that is going to happen. But our ladies have a plan. And so it begins...

The Shakespeare Secret is intriguing, fun, fast paced and well crafted historical fiction. The characters are powerful intelligent women who face whatever comes their way, in palace life as well as plague ridden London.
Despite the predictable ending this is a highly entertaining read that had me glued to its pages.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.

A hugely enjoyable read, this story about Mary (an Elizabethan noble and poet,) Emilia (a court musician) and Jane (a seamstress and costume maker) and their unlikely meeting and collaboration is about friendship, authenticity, authorship, the female voice and the power of creativity. American author David Nix writes strong, satisfying female characters and adds in enough peril, problem solving and oppressive patriarchy to make his readers champion the success of his trio of secretive, dazzling English playwrights.
4 1/2 stars.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

D.J. Nix, "The Shakespeare Secret," Alcove Press, July 29, 2025

There is a longstanding tradition of questioning who wrote Shakespeare's plays. Proposed authors have included Edward de Vere, Sir Francis Drake and Christopher Marlowe. In Shakespeare's Secret, D.J. Nix proposes a different alternative: a conspiracy of authors made up of the "secret sisterhood" of Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Emilia Bassano, Court musician and mistress of the Lord Chamberlain, and Jane Daggett, clothing and props mistress of the Queen's Men, a troupe of 16th century stage players.

These women, of vastly differing status, come together to write a play to be performed on the London stage, a thing forbidden by social norms and cultural dictates. Meeting in secret, they write "The Taming of the Shrew," which is to be performed by the Queen's Men for the Queen over the Christmas holiday. All three women watch the performance with bated breath. Will the Queen's Men give the play the performance it deserves? Will the Queen approve of it? To their dismay, the Queen's Men miss the point of the play and treat Kate's role without the sarcasm and satire it deserves. Still, the nobleman in the audience love it, and, surprisingly, so does the Queen.

After the simultaneous success and failure of the first performance if "Shrew" Lady Mary, Emilia and Jane decide to risk continuing their secret sisterhood. Shakespeare, now a member of Lord Strange's Men, will continue to present them as his own. After a lengthy session, the women decide to write a three play series about the Civil War. Will they manage to keep their secret? Or will they be exposed, exposing them to punishment ranging from imprisonment to death? And what of the spy who, unbeknownst to them, has followed them to every meeting and has formed a theory that they have formed a papist plot to kill the Queen?

"The Shakespeare Secret" is a warm, funny, engaging tale with themes of friendship, love and belonging. But the point of the book, never far from the surface, is that the oppression of women by men and society in the 16th century (or any other) is never to be tolerated. Lady Mary, Emilia and Jane attempt to make this point by writing plays. The consequences of that neither they nor the reader could have imagined.

I highly recommend this novel to readers not offended by the idea of a feminist take on the origin of some of the greatest works of the English language.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this novel..

I felt very drawn to this book and excited about the premise. The initial chapters were very promising and I enjoyed the characters, however, the story lost its magic a bit towards the middle. It just seemed to drag on a bit without much happening to push the plot along. It picked up again towards the end and all in all it was an enjoyable read.
I should mention that his was not the first historical fiction I read on the topic, so maybe my expectations prevented me from fully enjoying this.

Secrets, intrigue, belief.

Shakespeare the playwright, is not a man. He is the amalgam of three women desperate to tell their stories into the world, (countess) Mary Herbert, (court musician) Emelia Bassano and (seamstress) Jane Daggert.
The subterfuge, the tightly controlled social strata of Elizabethan England, the limited roles of women combine to create a gorgeously told story of just how they will create, publish and avoid punishment.

A truly excellent piece of historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fabulous premise for a book. Three women from different walks of life are all connected to the court of Elizabeth 1st. AS such they are not allowed to write plays but they do. A tense book with lots of twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

There has long been discourse on whether William Shakespeare was the author of all the plays in his catalogue. What if in reality it was actually three strong, intelligent women from different backgrounds that brought their knowledge and story telling skills together. D.J. Nix's novel "The Shakespeare Secret" does exactly this. Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Emilia Bassano, court musician; and, Jane Daggett, the mistress of the wardrobe for the players are great story tellers and determined to find a way to put their talents upon the stage. Jane is able to convince William Shakespeare to pass the plays as his own work so that the women are able to have their plays viewed in public. Shakespeare is willing to take on their request because he wants to move forward in the company. All are soon caught up in the conspiracy and fear over papist plots and spies, throwing their life and liberty at risk. At the same time, the Plague is also starting to hit London.

I really enjoyed this book and sped through it. It is well written, with great character development. I particularly enjoyed the part where they were writing the Taming of the Shrew (which is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays).

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this copy of "The Shakespeare Secret."

I always enjoy "who wrote the Shakespeare plays" theories, especially when it's a close-knit trio of women who outshine all the men at Elizabeth's court.

Starring real-life characters:
Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke who hates court intrigue and thrives through writing poetry
Emilia Bassano Lanier, a court musician with a razor-sharp wit who wants to write poetry and be a patron of the arts

They meet seamstress Jane Daggett who has an unbridled imagination and creates vivid stories telling of women's strength.

The three agree to meet secretly to write plays and Jane has help from a young actor "Will Shakespeare" who agrees to claim the plays as his own.

So much court intrigue and spies and secret codes...and the Plague.... BUT the ending was wonderful and you'll be cheering.

this was a fantastic concept for a historical fiction novel, it had that realistic element that I was looking for. It felt like the time-period and was engaged with the characters that I was looking for. It was everything in a historical mystery novel and the characters worked together. I was invested in what D. J. Nix wrote and was glad I read this, it had a tension that I was looking for and was glad everything worked overall.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I want to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with an ARC.
William Shakespeare might not be the great writer that
we've been told is difficult for anyone to digest. Last year I strted to read Jodi Picoult's By Any Other but DNF'ed it soon. The story wasn't interesting to me.
The premise of this book is intriguing, the plot even more so. Characters are rich and what's more the connections they form, their efforts, the conclusions they form and their striving towards fulfilling their dreams while making sure their everyday lives aren't too changed is written such a way that it feels natural and not preaching.
The characters leave a mark on you and I applauded all our ladies Mary, Emilia and Jane as well as Queen Elizabeth I for their work in men's world.
Robert Cecil wasn't your typical villain either and Will's support to Jane, desire and hardwork to be a writer in truth, especially his delight as he comes to the realization of who the original playwrighters are is just infectious.

Oh yes! Love the premise of three women being the writers instead of one man. In a time of great danger to all concerend, this novel weaves through court intrigue, women’s rights (or lack of), throwing in some oblique praise of Elizabeth I.

3.5 ⭐

What if the best-known plays in the English-speaking world were written under a pseudonym? Is it possible that three women (a frustrated poet, a court musician and a seamstress) collaborated to create ‘Shakespeare’?

Had it not been for one of the Queen’s spies noting their suspicious behaviour, their identity may have been concealed and their secret kept … a secret. Now Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke Emelia Bassano and Jane Daggett are put in a compromising position of outing each other or dealing with the accusations of a plot to kill the queen.

Nix’s story highlights friendship and trust and relies on startling revelations to propel the mystery. It has a great sense of humour, a true-to-history setting, good pacing and a fantastic premise.

This imaginative historical fiction novel was a satisfying read.

Gorgeous cover!

I was gifted this copy by Alcove Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A noblewoman, a court musician, & a theater troupe seamstress walk into a room....
The setup that three women are really behind the plays of William Shakespeare is a fun plot for a historical novel. The initial few chapters quickly set up our trio (who despite their different social statuses all dream of writing plays that will be consumed by an adoring public), and the plot moves at a fairly good pace. I did think that the three women decided on their secret playwriting a little too quickly, and wanted a bit more setup & initial growth of their friendship.
The secret playwriting activities soon gets the trio unwanted attention from one of the Queen's spies, and that leads them (and their small group of co-conspirators) into a whole lot of trouble. The novel has plenty of fun & quippy dialogue like: "Sheath your sword, my lord, lest your sternness dislodge your codpiece and shock the finer ladies present".
Not all the characters felt very well developed (like the spy sent to spy on the women, or the ever supportive Captain Dansby), and not all really get to participate in the final plan that emerges towards the end of the novel. All the different plot threads do come together at about the 70% mark, and the level of danger & court intrigue really picks up (the parts with Jane hiding out in London, and Shakespeare struggling to maintain his part in the great ruse were my favorite parts).