Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady"For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright; Who art as black as hell, as dark as night." —William Shakespeare, Sonnet 147 In the boldest imagining of the era since Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, a finalist for the Italian Premio del Castello del Terriccio, this spellbinding novel of witchcraft, poetry, and passion, brings to life Aemilia Lanyer, the "Dark Lady" of Shakespeare's Sonnets—the playwright's muse and his one true love. The daughter of a Venetian musician but orphaned as a young girl, Aemilia Bassano grows up in the court of Elizabeth I, becoming the Queen's favorite. She absorbs a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a striking young woman with a sharp mind and a quick tongue. Now brilliant, beautiful, and highly educated, she becomes mistress of Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Chamberlain and Queen's cousin. But her position is precarious; when she falls in love with court playwright William Shakespeare, her fortunes change irrevocably. A must-read for fans of Tracy Chevalier (Girl With a Pearl Earring) and Sarah Dunant (The Birth of Venus), Sally O'Reilly's richly atmospheric novel compellingly re-imagines the struggles for power, recognition, and survival in the brutal world of Elizabethan London. She conjures the art of England's first professional female poet, giving us a character for the ages—a woman who is ambitious and intelligent, true to herself, and true to her heart. |
Contents
Scene II | |
Scene III | |
Scene IV | |
Scene V | |
Scene VI | |
Scene VII | |
Scene VIII | |
Philosophy | |
Scene I | |
Scene III | |
Scene IV | |
Scene V | |
Scene VI | |
Scene VII | |
Scene VIII | |
Scene IX | |
Scene X | |
Scene XI | |
Scene XII | |
Scene I | |
Scene IV | |
Scene V | |
Scene VII | |
Scene XIII | |
Scene XIV | |
Scene IX | |
Poetry | |
Scene I | |
Historical Note | |
Background Events | |
Suggested Reading | |
Glossary | |
Acknowledgements | |
About the Author | |
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Common terms and phrases
Aemilia Aemilia Lanyer Alfonso Anne Anne Flood Bassano blood breath Burbage can’t child cloak close comes crowd dark dead dear death demon door dress eyes face father fear feel fool Forman God’s grimoire groundlings hair hand head hear Henry’s Hunsdon Inchbald inside Joan’s John Dee John Heminge keep kiss lady laugh Lilith London look Lord Lord Hunsdon magic Marie mind Mistress Lanyer Moll Cutpurse mother never night plague play players poet pray prenticeboys pull push Queen Richard Burbage Robert Armin Scene scream seems Shakespeare shoulder shouts silent Simon Forman smile speak stage stand stare street sure sweet tell There’s thing Thomas Dekker thought Tom Flood turn voice walk What’s Whitehall Palace whore wife Will’s William Shakespeare window witch woman women words Wriothesley