By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Libro.fm / Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC and Random House, #partner, for the advanced copy of By Any Other Name in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Random House / PRH Audio

Published: September 10, 2024

 

Summary:

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another 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.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.

 

My thoughts:

I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult for as long as I can remember and this is one book I knew I had to get to before year’s end…and I’m so glad I did because this one will absolutely be making my list of top reads this year!⁣
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What I love about Jodi Picoult’s books is that they get you thinking, and while this book is a bit of a departure from her typical story, it is no less powerful.⁣

I went into this one knowing about the theory that Shakespeare might not have written his own plays because I had seen Jodi on tour back in August and she of course talked about this very thing.⁣

It is so clear how much research Jodi did to write this book. I loved the deep dive into Emilia Bassano’s life, a young playwright who is thought to be the actual author of Shakespeare’s plays and how her life mirrored that of Melina Green, centuries later in present day. Both struggle as female playwrights and while we see that some things have changed since the 1500s, there is still more work to be done. And of course, the author’s note adds to this very point.⁣

 

Audio thoughts:

I paired the print version with the audiobook and was blown away with the narration. It was a full-cast narration, making it really come alive. Every emotion and accent was impeccably done.⁣

 

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