Publisher: Random House

Length: 528 pages

Publication Date: August 20, 2024

Legendary playwright William Shakespeare’s works have withstood the test of time. His characters are beautifully flawed and each play has a message for the viewers. What do we know about Shakespeare? He is a theater actor. He has a family, debts, and a lack of formal education. Shakespeare has never traveled outside of England. With all this in mind, how could an uneducated actor create insightful plays? He describes in great detail, buildings that he has never visited. Shakespeare’s female characters have the depth that other playwrights of the period fail to capture. Some historians suggest Shakespeare was a pseudonym used by several women writers. One author rumored to have written many of the plays is Emilia Bassano.

Emilia Bassano lost her father at the age of 7. Instead of being raised by her mother, The Countess of Kent took Emilia into her home, educated her, and raised her believing that women did have value. Emilia became a companion to the Countess of Cumberland’s daughter. After the death of Emilia’s mother, she became the mistress of The 1st Baron Hunsdon, 45 years Emilia’s senior. As the Baron’s mistress, Emilia traveled to many countries and attended many plays. In later years, life became difficult for Emilia and she wrote poems and plays as an escape.

Melina Green is an aspiring playwright. She enters her play in a competition to be produced and it isn’t selected. The theater critic judging the competition maligns her work. Melina’s dream of becoming a Broadway playwright stalls. As she looks through some family tree documents sent by her father, she learns that they are related to Emilia Bassano. As she read the information her father sent, Melina was stunned to find an educated woman writer in that era. Inspired by this discovery, Melina begins researching her ancestor. Did Emilia Bassano have the ability and creativity to craft monumental works? Melina’s research sparks her inspiration for a new play. With the theater still dominated by male playwrights, will Melina find a way to be heard?

Jodi Picoult’s new novel is told through Melina and Emilia’s eyes, These women, separated by decades, battle for recognition in the male-dominated world of theater. Was Emilia able to get her plays published? Will Melina be remembered for her early mistakes and be denied publication? By Any Other Name exposes the theory that the works long viewed as belonging to Shakespeare might belong to someone(s) else. Well-researched, provocative, and fascinating, who better to look into a male-dominated field than a female author?

Jodi Picoult never shies away from controversial topics. The identity of Shakespeare is accepted by many in the literary world. So many holes exist in his story that maybe someone else could be involved. I never considered how an uneducated man could bring such amazing characters to life. He describes places he’s never seen as though he has visited them. After reading this book, there certainly is logic in the theory that Emilia Bassano could have contributed some of the plays “authored” by Shakespeare. She had the education, travel experience, and feminine intuition to create some of these plays. It would be understandable to hide your identity behind a readily acceptable male identity. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t struggle with a potential change in the author’s name, the plays are and will be classics regardless of the author.

I am thankful for the kindness of Random House Publishing, Kathleen Quinlan, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and recommend it to all fans of historical fiction, Shakespeare, and women working in a male-dominated field.

My Rating: 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻/5