The Shakespeare Stealer

Gary Blackwood (author)

O'Brien Press, Dublin: 1998; 216pp

ISBN: 0862786347

Genres: adventure, drama, historical fiction, realistic fiction

Issues: friendship, giftedness, identity

Widge is an orphan, the property and slave of his master, a church minister with some strange academic interests and theories. One of these involves teaching Widge a strange and complicated type of shorthand, which is the starting point for his adventures at the Globe Theatre in London.

Widge is sold to a new master, one who wants to use his shorthand skills to steal the plays of William Shakespeare by copying down the words of the actors during a performance.

Falconer, a threatening fellow, is after one play in particular - Shakespeare's most recent tragedy that goes by the name of Hamlet. Things go wrong, of course, and during the ensuing chaos, Widge finds himself taken into the company of players and learning the craft of acting. For the first time he has friends but the dark and sinister figure of Falconer looms large in his nightmares and he knows that if he fails in his task to steal the play, then his master will kill him. Widge doesn't want to betray his new theatre family but sees no way of escaping from Falconer. What is he to do?

The resulting adventure is one that is remarkably true to its Elizabethan roots. The portrayal of the company of players, their dreams and fears, and the political pressures that beset them is historically accurate, allowing for a little creative licence as to the minor details. Small incidents that Widge witnesses or experiences within the story are taken directly from documents of the period, such as a canon setting fire to the thatched roof of the Globe during a performance. (Only in this story it doesn't burn the theatre to the ground.) The historical setting has been well-researched and is brought to life through colourful characters as seen through Widge's naïve country-bred perceptions. Even the idea of an audience member stealing the play by copying it down is true to the copyright and publishing situation of the time. The result is a lively narrative that serves as a very readable introduction to Shakespeare's London.

Highly recommended.