History forgets women constantly. This debut is Mai Black's answer to that erasure, and it's a genuinely moving one.

Elizabeth Boyd finds Shakespeare hidden in her father's library and it changes everything. Her brother thinks it's improper. A family doctor diagnoses her curiosity as a kind of madness, calls it reading fever, as if a woman wanting more than needlework and gossip were a disease to be cured. So she does what women throughout history have always done when the world refuses them a seat at the table. She builds her own table.

What follows is the formation of the real Shakespeare Ladies Club, a group of women who didn't just read plays in secret but fought to bring Shakespeare back into the public eye when his reputation had all but faded. Duchesses and countesses standing alongside Elizabeth, pooling their influence and their money to convince theater managers to stage his work as written, unbutchered by lesser adaptations. It's a quiet kind of rebellion, the kind history rarely bothers to record, and Black clearly did her homework bringing it to life.

The pacing takes its time getting there, and I found myself wanting to sit inside the club itself a little longer once it finally formed. But that slow build gives real weight to Elizabeth's isolation before she finds her people, and by the time the club comes together, you understand exactly why it matters. This is a book about the cost of intellectual hunger in a world built to starve women of it, and about what a handful of determined women can do when they refuse to stay quiet. A wonderful pick for anyone who loves their historical fiction laced with literary obsession and quiet defiance.

Thank you NetGalley and The Book Guild for this eCopy to review.

Mai Black delivers a vibrant, witty, and empowering historical novel set in Georgian London, shining a light on the women who refused to let Shakespeare fade into obscurity. The Women Who Saved Shakespeare is clever, atmospheric, and full of feminist fire

📜🎭📚Plot Summary
In eighteenth‑century London, “reading fever” is said to endanger the delicate minds of young women at least according to the men who dominate the literary world. Elizabeth Boyd knows better. When she discovers her grandmother’s annotated Shakespeare, she recognises a brilliance the men around her refuse to see.

As her twin brother rises through privilege, Elizabeth secretly teaches herself to write, daring to dream of a life in letters. A chance encounter draws her into a circle of like‑minded women who share her passion for literature. Together, they form the Shakespeare Ladies Club, determined to restore the Bard’s reputation and claim their place in London’s literary scene.

But their campaign soon attracts the attention and scorn of the notorious Hellfire Club, led by Elizabeth’s own brother. His riotous, destructive plans threaten everything the women have built, forcing Elizabeth to confront the widening gulf between them and the dangers of challenging male power in a city that wants women silent.

Black’s storytelling is rich with period detail: coffee houses, theatres, print shops, and the vibrant, chaotic energy of Georgian London. The novel celebrates female ambition, friendship, and the courage required to carve out space in a world determined to shut women out.

💛What I Loved Most
A refreshing focus on women’s literary activism in the eighteenth century.
Elizabeth Boyd is a compelling heroine — determined, sharp, and quietly rebellious.
The Shakespeare Ladies Club is a joy: witty, supportive, and fiercely intelligent.
Strong historical atmosphere with lively depictions of Georgian London.
A triumphant, feminist narrative inspired by real events.

✨Final Thoughts
The Women Who Saved Shakespeare is a witty, triumphant tale of sisterhood, courage, and the women who refused to let genius be forgotten. Mai Black restores these remarkable figures to the spotlight with charm and conviction

As someone who loves fiction based on real historical events, The Women Who Saved Shakespeare was right up my street. Mai Black shines a light on a fascinating group of women who came together to discuss, celebrate and promote Shakespeare's work,

The novel has a wonderfully colourful cast of characters, drawn from across different levels of society, which gives the story plenty of depth and variety. There are spills, thrills and more than a few unexpected twists along the way, keeping the pace moving nicely while never losing sight of the friendships and shared passion at the heart of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this story immensely. It's an engaging blend of history, drama and memorable characters, and a great reminder that some of the most interesting stories are the ones rooted in real life. A thoroughly enjoyable read that I'd happily recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction with a strong cast and a fascinating premise.

(Copilot assisted me with the writing of this review - based on very specific prompts taken from my notes of reading the book).

Great read! I don’t usually write reviews, but this book was such a wonderful piece of history that I had to share. It gives much-deserved acknowledgment to the women behind Shakespeare, and I particularly loved the authors’ ability to bring you along for the journey. It was so gracefully written, despite being historical non-fiction, it never felt heavy or dry. Just a really pleasant and engaging read. Hopefully someone turns it into a series!

What a remarkable history, beautifully told! So much of how women are treated in this book makes me cringe - “female brains were not designed for such labors” (reading and writing), and “there is always a danger for women who are not mothers. Untried wombs make women prone to hysteria.’ - and yet it’s historically accurate. To read books, to have opinions, to follow art and politics with any intellect, are not only considered unbecoming but insane and dangerous and worthy of being put in a torturous asylum.

Amid this, women who saw not only the genius of Shakespeare’s writings but also the way he portrayed women as more than how they were seen in their day, took bold and brave steps to keep his plays from being defiled and degraded. Such incredible history. Highly recommend! 4.5 stars only because it’s a slightly slow burn at the beginning (most of the action happens in the last quarter).

Mai Black, The Women Who Saved Shakespeare, The Book Guild, May 2026.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Mai Black describes her debut work, The Women Who Saved Shakespeare, as a novel. It has all the markings of a good novel – engaging characters; conflict, including family relationships; a central challenge with obstacles to be overcome by the protagonists; and interrogation of class and gender inequality. At the same time, it benefits from being based on an intriguing historical reality, which Black describes in an Author’s Note. The Shakespeare Ladies Club formed in 1736 to re-establish Shakespeare’s reputation as a playwright of merit. The Club met until 1741, only one of the women led literary societies in London at the time. Four years later, Eliza Haywood noted in The Female Spectator, that ‘some ladies’ had rescued Shakespeare, demonstrating that although short lived, the club served its purpose.

Elizabeth Boyd, around whose family the narrative revolves, is an ideal focus for the class and gender inequalities that permeated and controlled the society in which she wished to read and enjoy Shakespeare, meet with friends and make her living from writing untrammelled by the expectation that she marry, and be quiet until she did so. Eizabeth’s life is juxtaposed with that of her male twin, a clever device which subtly demonstrates the vast difference in male and female children’s and later, adult, expectations. Charles also has a more egregious role to play, and his behaviour influences Elizabeth’s adult private and public lives. He personifies male control of women at the time, unmitigated by any ostensibly positive qualities. Elizabeth cannot do as she pleases. Her twin is free to behave badly. That class does not rule out gender discrimination is shown when Eizabeth meets with aristocratic women friends. The importance of sisterhood is neatly made in this context. When such encounters take place with husbands present relationships between the women are damaged, requiring understanding and forgiveness.

Quotations from Shakespeare’s plays abound, so that his work can be appreciated along with the women’s determination to ensure that it regains favour. Elizabeth’s writing and publishing ambitions as a paid professional is contrasted with the women’s work on behalf of Shakespeare. References to one published woman writer, Elizabeth Hayward are instructive.

The women’s work to ensure that Shakespeare’s language and words are not mutilated resonates with contemporary rewriting of eminent texts. So too, does Black’s quiet, but strongly conveyed argument against an actor blacking his face to play Othello. These links with contemporary concerns enhance Black’s compelling narrative, in which she adeptly combines historical and fictional events and characters. Her description of the context in which Elizabeth Boyd and her contemporaries worked, conveys a broader social history of the time than that of the Club, while maintaining the women’s work on Shakespeare’s rehabilitation in London theatres during the mid -1700s theatres at its core.

What a fascinating novel. I never knew anything about this group of women who came from all different walks of life who worked together to bring William Shakespeare stories back to life again. Absolutely fascinating and despite the uphill struggles they had, Elizabeth Boyd, being one of the main ones they supported each other despite a lot of opposition from the men around them. It was a really enjoyable read and very well researched thoroughly. Would totally recommend

Such an interesting book! 3.5 stars. I had not known about the Shakespeare Ladies club before this and found it so interesting considering the time. Women definitely had it difficult during this era and you feel that very keenly through the story. Our protagonist seemed like everything and everyone was stacked against her, but loved how she stuck to her passion and made it through despite it all. She really could not catch a break. I did wish there had been more about the club and its members as we really only got into that about halfway through the book. I think there were so many interesting characters we never got to know too well. I also found our protagonist's life incredibly sad but then hopeful with her found family in the club and common Shakespeare interests. All in all and story worth your time and it reads really quickly too.
Thank you for the eArc and the opportunity to read!

Can you even begin to imagine what it would have been like to be a female, and not be looked at for much more than domesticated duties and nabbing a husband? The society at the time having the notion that there was one place for them to be, and one place alone?

Do not even get started with the thought of education only being made available to the males. Thinking of those previous times, and you have something that us modern women of today would refuse to accept, let alone believe it even to have been possible.

In Mai Black's, The Women Who Saved Shakespeare, not only are all of these ideas challenged, they are actually beginning to be overcome.

Enter stage right the main character Elizabeth Boyd, who not only loves the written word, but is in her own right becoming an author worthy of getting noticed. To say she has multiple challenges in front of her, including from her own family, and you have the understatement of the year. Yet, she refuses to give up on her dream and her ideals, and for every time she is proverbially thrown to the ground, she dusts herself off and begins again.

It is with her help that The Shakespeare Ladies Club, which was a real thing by the way, starts to take shape and helps to bring Shakespeare's popularity more to the masses, as well as allowing these women both high society and otherwise to finally have a voice and continue learning how to use them.

One can't go wrong with reading this piece of historical fiction, and actually being able to feel a part of it all while thumbing through the pages that tell a story from so long ago..

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy and this was a book I truly enjoyed.

This seems to be a debut book for author Mai Black, based on the true events of the Shakespeare Ladies Club, set in 18th century London.
The story is told through the eyes of Elizabeth Boyd, and how she became a a follower of Shakespeare at a young age, despite the challenges that she faced both within her family and culturally.
It starts out somewhat slowly and it was disheartening to read through all her struggles, by her family, society, even her sanity questioned because of her inquisitive attitude in wanting to learn and push the stifling rules surrounding women at that time.
The ladies club is not introduced until about 2/3rds of the book and left me wanting to know more about them individually and what else they achieved as a club.
The language is clean, a non graphic scene of female attack, domestic abuse intimated and a sweet budding romance. It is a solid 3.5 stars for me.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those interested in the historical story of Elizabeth Boyd and the Shakespeare Ladies Club. It will move you to experience both the challenges and the courage displayed by women from a variety of backgrounds to change the course of theater and art in their time. The perseverance, creativity and friendship between them shines and is inspiring to read.
A big note of gratitude to The Book Guild publishing and NetGalley for the ARC, it was a privilege and a privilege to read. All opinions expressed are my own.

I truly wanted to love this book. The concept and the historical grounding of the novel were amazing. The fact that the author was able to bring so many historical characters to life was truly incredible and I appreciated the work that must have gone into the research on this project.

This book fell flat for me in two areas:
1. The writing felt robotic at times. It was chopping and not as lyrical as I like (but that could just be personal preference).
2. I had a hard time suffering through Elizabeth's life. It felt so dark and hopeless most of the time. Full of misunderstandings and I just wanted her to stand up, yell, and stick up for herself. She really had NO ONE in her corner for most of her life and it just frustrated me over and over. I know we want a bit of difficulty in a main character's life but this one just felt like too much. While she did eventually make some friends, the relationships all felt rather surface level and lacked true depth. The concept of the noble women taking a commoner under their wing didn't feel realistic and I think Elizabeth could have been a much better character.

Overall, I found it hard to get through this book... sadly. I almost walked away a few times but as this Digital Review Copy was provided to me by NetGalley, I felt like I needed to stick it out.

An interesting book with a fascinating premise. It felt a little too focused on the protagonist and not on the women who saved Shakespeare but thats a personal feeling.

I am glad I was on a plane when I started this because I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else but finish the book. While being a Shakespeare fan makes this more enjoyable, I think you would still enjoy this even if you only knew a few lines of his. I loved how books and writing brought women some freedom when it wasn't readily available. I hadn't heard of this club so was excited to read a fiction account and then go learn more.

I think this is one of the loveliest books I have read in a long time. I'm familiar with the factual story of the Shakespeare ladies Club and their achievements so I wondered how historical fiction would work in this setting. It was wonderful to bring these characters to life with the lead character of Elizabeth Boyd. Much of the book is very true to life including where people lived and their experiences so the author has really researched the subject. And once i started reading I could not stop.

I've never heard of the Shakespeare Ladies Club, so I was intrigued from the start. It's a story about a strong-willed group of women, the impact they had on the theater, and their shear enjoyment and devotion to Shakespeare's original plays. It was interesting to read about women who, regardless of status, found a common interest in something they were passionate about, set a goal and fought to see it through. In a time where women weren't expected to have opinions, educate themselves and support themselves, these ladies came together and made a difference.

What an inspiring story of how literature can transform us to become better versions of ourselves, no matter the time period. This book reimagines a time period where women were so inspired by Shakespeare, they created a literary club to discuss his plays and work hard to create a presence for women in the theater. I absolutely loved Elizabeth’s passion, force, intellect, and connection between Shakespeare’s characters and her own reality. It moved a bit slow at times, but overall, this is a great read for anyone who appreciates theater, Shakespeare, and the historical connections to the 18th century.

It was interesting to learn about a group of women who had such an impact on Shakespeare's plays. As an English teacher, I have taught many different Shakespeare plays and have never heard of The Shakespeare Ladies Club, so I was excited to read this novel. The ladies' club was not even mentioned until at least 2/3's of the way through the book, which was a bit of a disappointment, since as I was reading, I kept wondering when we would learn about the club and about what they did. And, even when it was discussed, there really was not much history given about it, which was a disappointment. So though I was intrigued to learn that women played this role in history, I actually didn't learn much about it. The story itself was not that engaging, and I didn't like most of the characters, even the main character who is so interested in Shakespeare and isn't allowed to read it because she is a girl was not that engaging. Thanks to NetGalley and The Book Guild for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued to learn that women had had such a prominent roll in bringing more of Shakespeare’s plays to the stage after they had been in decline, and that there had even been a Shakespeare Ladies Club. I like historical novels and the author is very good at describing and immersing you into the era.

It is halfway through the book before the Club comes into being, until then it feels very much that it is going to be a romance. The ups and downs in the fortunes of the Boyd family are entertaining but I would have liked the majority of the book to have been about the Shakespeare Ladies Club and the lives of the other founder members of the club too.

The good inclusion was the fact that women could be locked into asylums due to ‘hysteria’, quite often at the behest of the family who would bring in a doctor to ‘advise’ and to prescribe it.

On the whole, a light and pleasant read with an interesting subject and very enjoyable.

Many thanks to Mai Black, The Book Guild and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy.

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4

The family dynamic of Elizabeth is reminiscent of Cinderella. That was probably the worst.

But I DO love a historical fiction book and this one did what I expected it to do. It took me back to a time in history and educated me.

The reader is taken to a period in which women were expected to simply exist for the purposes of men: sit there, look pretty, and have babies. Fortunately, many of the women in this novel dare to have the audacity to read and have opinions. Elizabeth even risks institutionalization for "Reading Fever."

"I would not desire a man who would only want to marry a face,' I said. 'What manner of shallowness is that?"

The book educated me as I was completely unaware that there was an actual group of women responsible for reviving the works of Shakespeare and providing him the status for which he is recognized today.

A good read for any historical fiction lover!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher (The Book Guild) for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.