Summary
The story of a Venetian musician's daughter, Aemilia Bassano, who a decade after the death of Elizabeth I begs help from her former lover, William Shakespeare, when her son catches the plague. Full description
Summary: |
The story of a Venetian musician's daughter, Aemilia Bassano, who a decade after the death of Elizabeth I begs help from her former lover, William Shakespeare, when her son catches the plague. "The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano came of age in Queen Elizabeth's royal court. The Queen's favorite, she developed a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a young woman known not only for her beauty but also her sharp mind and a quick tongue. When Aemilia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, she fears her mind will languish--until she crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair. A decade later, the Queen is dead, and Aemilia Bassano is now Aemilia Lanyer, fallen from favor and married to a fool. Like the rest of London, she fears the plague. And when her son Henry takes ill, Aemilia will do anything to save him, even if it means seeking help from her estranged lover, Will--or worse, making a pact with the Devil himself. In rich, vivid detail, Sally O'Reilly breathes life into England's first female poet, a mysterious woman nearly forgotten by history."-- |
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Physical Description: |
436 pages ; 25 cm |
Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references (page 431). |
ISBN: |
9781250048134 (hardback) 1250048133 (hardback) |
Author Notes: |
Sally O'Reilly was born in 1971 and is a writer, critic, editor and teacher. She is a tutor at Royal College of Art, London, and teaches at various other universities around the UK. She was Writer in Residence at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 2010/11. She has contributed to Art Monthly, Contemporary Magazine, Frieze, Cabinet, Modern Painters, and Time Out as well as writing catalogue essays for numerous international art exhibitions. Her book The Body in Contemporary Art was published by Thames and Hudson in 2009. Her title Dark Aemilia made the Hot Book Club List in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) |