Official Review: Shakespeare and Emilia by Peter Bassano

[Sam Ibeh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Shakespeare and Emilia" by Peter Bassano.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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There are so many mysteries surrounding William Shakespeare. One of which is doubt by some scholars of his authorship of many tales attributed to him. Shakespeare and Emilia: The Untold Story by Peter Bassano takes a look at one of such mysteries — the identity of the protagonists in the collection of 154 sonnets and A Louers Complaint. These characters and their deeds aren't just a figment of the poet's imagination; there are 'well-kept' secrets to the clandestine affairs of the poet. Cloaked under the finery of elegant wordplay, a story of love, passion, and betrayal unravels, and its implications are far-reaching. Was Shakespeare bisexual? Was the Dark Lady of the sonnets Emilia Bassano? How can we explain the poet's fascination with Italy? Peter Bassano does not just tell; he shows and deduces the timeline of events, the possible occurrences, and resolves the riddle of Shakespeare and the Dark Lady.

Shakespeare and Emilia: The Untold Story is a historical analysis of the events before, during, and after Shakespeare's encounter with a lady of Venetian origin — Emilia Bassano. It not only explores their love story and its effect on the poet's work but also dives into the intricacies of social norms in 16th-century Britain (Europe). Here we see the beauty of documentation; paperwork, paintings, and monuments are used as exhibits to back up arguments. These pieces of evidence cannot be refuted, and they show that not only was there a poet called William Shakespeare but also that his life stories are embedded in his work. To understand the man, we have to appreciate his work.

One of the things I noticed straight away in this book was the detailed analysis of events and the abundance of documented evidence in paintings and paperwork. It is clear that the author cared a lot about this topic; perhaps this is personal to him, as he is related to Emilia Bassano. Of course, he is toeing the line of A. L. Rowse, who first made the presentation of Emilia Bassano as the Dark Lady of the sonnets. The author also maintained source vocabulary, which may be slightly unnerving for a modern reader (linguists excluded), lends to the genuineness of the texts, and prevents errors that might be lost in transliteration. It offers an opportunity to appreciate the linguistic prowess of 16th-century poets. I also noticed that points are mentioned severally, sometimes in more detail in one place than in others; this reinforces the story's facts in the reader's mind. This, and the author's detailed yet straightforward narrative style, will undoubtedly engrave the story of Shakespeare and Emilia in the reader's mind for a long time to come.

I know that the writing of this book required a lot of work and research, but attention should have been on the editing of the book as well, particularly the dating of events. One glaring example was that of the date of the existence of Sir Thomas Fairfax's New Model Army. It is dated 1545 when it should be 1645. The 'Introduction' is missing from the table of content. Apart from these errors, there were numerous errors of spelling, duplicated prepositions and verbs, and some omitted words. I realized the volume of the work might have contributed to these errors; however, this book would benefit from another round of thorough editing.

I will recommend this book to readers with interest in Shakespeare's life and his works. Readers who are still doubtful of certain aspects of the poet's life should also check this book out; they might just come away with a different opinion. Readers with interest in 16th-century British social norms, with a little bit of political history, might find this book insightful too. Finally, I will rate this book 3 out of 4 stars for the reasons I stated in the preceding paragraph. Its detailed analysis and well-documented paperwork and artifacts are a testament to its authenticity and the author's passion for telling this largely unknown human story.

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Shakespeare and Emilia
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[Kanchan Sharma]

A fiction, thriller review of Shakespeare work. A good review by Sam. I am definitely going to read this book.

[Becca Olsson]

What an interesting idea behind the works of Shakespeare. I’d be very interested to know how Emilia affected his work. Thanks for the great review!

[GNerd]

Not my genre of book, so I'll pass. Your review was exceptional. Thank you.