The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare - by Arliss Ryan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Dramatizing a marriage born of passion and strained by ambition, Arliss Ryan's fascinating historical novel chronicles a love affair for the ages, and the story of a woman who dares to fulfill her own surprising destiny.

Anne Hathaway is weighing her prospects for marriage when a dalliance with young Will Shakespeare, the poetry-writing son of a rural glove- maker, leaves her pregnant and wed. When Will joins a traveling acting troupe and moves to London, Anne leaves their children in his parents' care and boldly follows him.

Taking up a new identity at Will's side, Anne supports his career as a struggling actor by sewing costumes and transcribing manuscripts in the rough-and-tumble world of London's theatres. As Will finds his true calling in writing, Anne's own literary skills begin to flower, leading to a secret collaboration that makes Will the foremost playwright in Elizabethan England.

Review Quotes

"An entertaining and admirable novel that offers a surprising reinterpretation of Will Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, who shares, and helps shape, his dream."
-Sandra Worth, author of The King's Daughter: A Novel of the First Tudor Queen

"Arliss Ryan knows her Tudor London and the theater of that era. The Secret Confessions brings Anne Hathaway out of the shadows into real life, not as the neglected shrew William happily left behind in Stratford, but as a sensual, humorous, talented and daring woman. This is a compelling novel with unexpected turns in every satisfying chapter."
-Jeane Westin, author of His Last Letter

"Controversial and clever, daring and detailed, The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare out shocks any modern day tell-all. Anne, the feisty and dynamic narrator, gives us an in-depth view of her own life and of Queen Elizabeth's England. The novel is as sweeping and insightful, tragic and comic as some of the bard's own plays."
-Karen Harper, author of Mistress Shakespeare and The Queen's Governess