Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard
Richard B. Wright, 2010
HarperCollins Canada
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781554688357
Summary
In a quiet manor house in Oxfordshire, an ailing housekeeper by the name of Aerlene Ward feels the time has come to confess the great secret that has shaped her life—she is the illegitimate daughter of William Shakespeare, England's most famous playwright.
With a brilliant eye and ear for this rich period of history, Richard B. Wright brings to life the teeming streets of Elizabethan London and the seasonal rhythms of rural life in Oliver Cromwell's England as he interweaves the intriguing stories of the lovely Elizabeth, who allows herself to be seduced by a struggling young writer from Stratford, and her plain but clever daughter, who must live with the consequences.
As their lives unfold, secrets are revealed, love is found and lost, and futures are forever changed. Readers will be fascinated by glimpses of the young Will as an actor with the Queen's Men and, fifteen years later, as a world-weary but increasingly wealthy playwright—who may have had an unexpected daughter.
An engaging blend of invention and historical detail, and echoing the unmistakable style of the Bard himself, Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard confirms Wright as one of our finest storytellers. This unforgettable novel will delight the senses and touch the heart. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—March 4, 1937
• Where—Midland, Ontario, Canada
• Education—Ryerson Polytechnic Institute; B.A., Trent
University
• Awards—Giller Prize (Canada); Faber Memorial Prize (UK);
Governor General's Award (Canada); Trillium Book Award
• Currently—lives in St. Catherines, Ontario
Richard B. Wright, CM, is a Canadian writer who was born in Midland, Ontario, to Laverne and Laura (née Thomas). He graduated from Midland high school in 1956, and attended and graduated from Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in the area of Radio and TV arts in 1959.
Career
Wright worked briefly within local newspapers and radio stations as a copywriter before becoming an assistent editor for MacMillan Canada in 1960.
During Wright's time at MacMillan his first book was published, a children's book titled Andrew Tolliver (Later retitled One John A. Too Many). His first full-length novel was titled The Weekend Man which was written in eighteen months while staying at his wife's family cottage in Quebec. The novel was a critical success with reviewers praising Wright's versatility and ability to speak and create believable female characters.
In 1970 Wright returned to post-secondary and attended Trent University from which he graduated in 1972 with a B.A. Of English. In 1976 Wright had obtained a position at Ridley College, a private school, teaching English until his eventual retirement.
While having being nominated for several literary awards before, it wasn't until 2001 that Wright gained wide recognition for his award-winning novel Clara Callan which also lead to the republication of many of his earlier works. That novel went on to win three of Canada's major literary awards: The Giller Prize , the Trillium Book Award and the Governor General's Award.
Literary Themes
Wright's published works often touch specifically on the lives of ordinary people with a profound balance of both depth and sensitivity. Wright has often been praised as an author who creates believable characters with a voice that must be heard. The Montreal Gazette is just one of many reviewers who have praised Wright’s work to the lengths of stating that his 2010 novel, Mr.Shakespeare’s Bastard is “A masterful novel...[which] confirms his ability to evoke an authentically female sensibility.” The novel has continued to gain recognition and was described by the Winnepeg Free Press as a novel that "Draws us swiftly through the pages...."
Wright also provides a narrative of pure life to his settings and character backgrounds that have continued to give him wide recognition as a Canadian novelist. His novels have been, and continue to be, published all around the world. In 2006 Wright received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Trent University, and in 2007 he became a member of the Order of Canada Order of Canada.
Wright has been married to Phyllis Wright (née Cotton) since 1966. The couple has two sons, Christopher Stephen and Richard Andrew. He currently resides in St. Catherines Ontario where he writes full time and enjoys walking, reading and music. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
A writer of insatiable curiosity and intelligence who just happens to have perfect pitch for dialogue and nuance. These qualities have made Richard Wright one of Canada’s top literary talents and Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard yet another total delight to read.
Toronto Star
A masterful novel...[which] confirms his ability to evoke an authentically female sensibility.
Montreal Gazette
An immensely entertaining romp.... Lizzy’s story and Aerlene’s story are wonderfully funny and suspenseful and absorbing.... Wright is a gifted storyteller and in Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard he’s at his absolute storytelling best.
Winnipeg Free Press
Wright’s gifts as a novelist, notably here his ability to craft extraordinarily believable female characters, remain in full swing, as do his eternal interests, including his intense exploration of his characters’ interior lives.... Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard is a smartly paced, lively and Shakespearean story of the many-splendoured varieties of love.... Throughout this lovely novel, Linny, the plain daughter of a pretty mother, shows her resemblance to her father in everything from the cast of her brow to her insight into the human heart.
Maclean's
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard:
1. Did you enjoy the book's structure as it alternated among three different time frames: Cromwellian England of 1658, the London of 1587, and London 15 years later? (Did you occasionally find it difficult to keep "Lizzy's" story separate from "Linney's"?)
2. At the onset of the story, Liz says to Arlene, "From the beginning I had terrible judgment in men." How does this statement set expectations for the story that follows? What are the parallels in Arlene's life?
3. The novel gives us two glimpses of Shakespeare—through Liz's eyes and, 15 years later, Arlene's? Describe the way this novel presents Shakespeare—and the ways in which he changes from Liz's time to Arlene's.
4. What draws Liz and Will together?
5. How does Liz's low opinion of herself cloud her belief in Shakespeare's talents?
6. Why might author Wright have chosen to tell his story three steps removed—through Liz, who tells Arlene, who then tells Charlotte. Consider how Charlotte questions the story's accuracy after so many years. Talk about Arlene's response and how it relates to the nature of storytelling...perhaps to the nature of all art, even to history itself:
That is an uncommonly literal reading of events and, if I may say so, does a disservice to your intelligence. In relating anything, we only approach the truth; we are never exactly there. Moreover, does not another truth besides the factual lurk in any account of events? A truth perhaps far more important?
7. In what way is literature a substitute religion for Arlene? Why is Hamlet her favorite play—what themes does it explore that have meaning for her own life?
8. What does Arlene think about Shakespeare after their meeting? Does he know or suspect she is his daughter? In what way does Arlene resemble her father—inward and outward. How are her insights into the human heart like her father's?
9. What does Charlotte regret about her own upbringing? How do society's codes for women restrict her life...and the lives of all women?
10. How does Wright portray life for the majority of men's and women's lives in the late-1500s to mid-1600s—especially the contrast between those of Oxford Manor and the "wretched masses" crowding the streets of London. Do you find Wright's descriptions of clothing and the other minutiae interesting or tiresome?
11. In what way do the lives of the novel's characters parallel the lives of Shakespeare's characters?
12. This novel contains loss and sorrow. Was it too sad? Would you have changed outcomes in the book—as Linney says she changed the fates of many of Shakespeare's characters?
13. As a male, does the author write in a convincing female voice? Wright could have written the book about a young man—after all, the book's title is "bastard" not "daughter." Any thoughts on why he decided on a female heroine rather than a male?
14. What are some of the humorous parts in the book? If you're in a book discussion, read them out loud.
15. Talk about the role of religion and the various religious practices (both traditional and non-traditional) in this novel.
Finally, not a question but an observation sent to us from Ginger Megs in Australian—we thought you would find it interesting:
Tea wasn't in common usage in England until 1660 and then only by the fashionable rich; a servant girl as written about on page 5 of Mr Shakespeare's Bastard would not be drinking tea.
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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