
Blurb
London, 1592. 28-year-old William Shakespeare is the rising man of English theatre. But plague has hit the capital, and the playhouses are to be shut. Livelihoods, and lives, are at stake.
Lady Celia Vernon is one of the first to perish but did she really die of plague? Her cousin, the Earl of Southampton, orders Will to discover the truth in a London filled with conspirators, cutthroats and traitors.
The Queen’s spymaster, Robert Cecil, suspects the Earl of treason and orders Will to spy on him in return. Caught between two of the most powerful men in the kingdom, Will cannot possibly serve both masters, and could easily become the next victim of the killer he is trying to catch.
My Review
This is a book about William Shakespeare early in his career; his company has just performed his first play, Henry VI, to great acclaim. But Will is still insecure about his talent and stands in the shadow of the great Christopher Marlowe. But that’s not really what this book is about. Having attempted to draw the attention of the wealthy Earl of Southampton as a potential patron, Will suddenly finds himself targeted by the powerful Robert Cecil, who wants to use him to spy on said Southampton. Cecil threatens Will with dire punishment—like the rack—if he doesn’t come back with evidence of the earl’s treasonous behavior; Robert hates Southampton with a passion, and Will is to bring him down… or else. At the same time, Southampton has instructed Will to find out about the suspicious death of his cousin Lady Celia; did she die of the plague or was she murdered by her husband? Two spy assignments? Will was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place:
‘If you succeed, I will look kindly upon you and your work. I am known to be a generous patron.’ And before that cheerful seed had even been planted in Will’s mind, he added, ‘Fail and I will overlook you.’
So, there it was. The Earl of Southampton’s generous patronage was available to Will but it would come at a price. This would be a dangerous game and the spectre of Sir Robert Cecil still hung over any pact he might make with the lord he was meant to be spying on.
While investigating Celia’s death, Will falls in love with Rosalind, Celia’s companion who was with her until the end. Of course, since Shakespeare was married with two children, that relationship couldn’t go anywhere, but it takes up a good portion of the book. I almost lost track of the Cecil plot, but it comes around again in good time. Frankly, I thought the novel was unfair to Cecil; it made him look more like an inquisitor than secretary of state; I can’t see him making those kinds of threats, especially since his father, the great William Cecil, was still alive. However, this is a novel, after all, and I had to excuse a certain amount of poetic license. Overall, I really enjoyed the read; it moves along swiftly and smoothly, and we get a good feel for the playwrights and theatre companies of the Elizabethan era.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Garden-historical-Shakespeare-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0DCDGF6Q2
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