From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes a 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.
