San Antonio Express on Warriors of the Storm
’Warriors’ may be the best in the ‘Saxon Tales’ series yet…. Cornwell’s informative stories are told with appealing imagination to reveal the complicated, lengthy history of England’s formation.
Oklahoman on Warriors of the Storm
For those who are looking for something akin to ‘Game of Thrones’ on HBO or in George R.R. Martin’s novels on which it is based, you can’t go wrong with Cornwell’s tales of Saxons in the years before Britain became England.
New York Journal of Books on Warriors of the Storm
Gripping, exciting, and engaging. It is another great read from the masterful author. . . . A Cornwell novel is always full of suspense, and this one is no different. Time after time the suspense is intense. It will have you on the edge of your seat.
San Antonio Express-News
As skillful a blend of history and fiction as any novelist can achieve.... Anyone reading ‘Fools and Mortals’ will not see or read Shakespeare the same again.
Wall Street Journal
Impressively original…. Like William, Richard Shakespeare, his younger brother, is a historical figure about whom next to nothing is known, and Mr. Cornwell has fitted him out with a superb dramatic trajectory, from street urchin to acclaimed actor…. Cornwell fattens up this story with a splendor of period detail.
Historical Novel Society
The atmosphere of the times and the world of the theatre are expertly conveyed, based as usual on thorough research. The master of historical fiction demonstrates exactly why he is so successful. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Booklist
In this delightful departure from his popular military historicals, Cornwell (The Flame Bearer, 2016) conducts a boisterous behind-the-scenes romp through the often sordid world of the Elizabethan theater…. Cornwell displays his usual masterful attention to detail…. Sumptuously entertaining.”
The Times
Cornwell is an enthusiastic amateur dramatist. His portrayal of the actors’ rivalries and superstitions is sharp and often funny. His combination of wit, adventure and deft characterization is a triumphant departure from his usual territory.
The Times (UK)
Cornwell is an enthusiastic amateur dramatist. His portrayal of the actors’ rivalries and superstitions is sharp and often funny. His combination of wit, adventure and deft characterization is a triumphant departure from his usual territory.
School Library Journal
03/01/2018
Just three weeks into his apprenticeship, Richard Shakespeare flees from Stratford after stealing from and then striking his brutal master in the head. Seeking refuge in London in his older brother Will's theater company, he becomes an actor, but he plays only women's roles, is poorly paid, and has to suffer his brother's scorn as well. When Will writes A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard plays his first male role but one that still requires portraying a woman in "the play within the play." He contemplates defecting to another playhouse, but, when Will's two new scripts are stolen, it is Richard who retrieves them, and his reward is the plum, masculine role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Cornwell's novel is filled with historical and theatrical information, well-developed characters, intrigue, romance, and a fast-moving, ever-surprising plot. By focusing on Richard instead of on the Bard himself, the author reveals numerous details about the personal and professional lives of the Lord Chamberlain's Men while maintaining a distance from which his Richard can freely comment upon the action. Uncommon vocabulary is explained in context, and a wealth of details about Elizabethan customs and historical persons/situations add to the richness of the text, though some of the language can be rather crude. VERDICT An excellent, intimate portrait of Shakespeare's world for high school and public libraries with broad collection policies.—Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence
Kirkus Reviews
2017-10-31
Cornwell (The Flame Bearer, 2016, etc.) turns from conspiracies of crowned heads to mysteries in the world of Elizabethan theater.William Shakespeare's obscure real-life brother, Richard, an actor in William's company, is a decade younger, quite handsome, and yet resentful, angry, and petulant. His brother's cold welcome to London might be the cause, or perhaps it's William's condescending and cantankerous attitude. Cornwell is superb with mood and setting, whether ugly—London's "reek of sewage and smoke"—or elegant: "city churches mangled the air by striking eleven." There are descriptions of theaters, the great open-air structures built outside the city's walls because the "Puritan fathers of London...detest the playhouses and had banned them." The plot is a mystery within a play. Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Chamberlain, has hired Shakespeare's company to perform an original play for his granddaughter's wedding. The Bard is imagining A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the new script will be one of his company's "most precious possessions." There was no copyright in those days, and plagiarism was rampant. A company that possessed a script, original or purloined, could perform it without adverse legal consequence. Richard is suborned by agents of the Earl of Lechlade to steal the script to be performed in a newer, larger theater, the Swan. He refuses. The script is stolen. William suspects ambitious, restless Richard. Richard offers to find the script and steal it back, his reward being a promotion to playing male roles. There are details about everything from the mostly Puritan, black-dressed thought police to theater makeup, in which eyes are shadowed with "soot mixed with pork fat." There are a plethora of characters, everyone distinctively sketched, and there's much ado about Shakespeare's creative process.A master craftsman at work: imaginative, intelligent, and just plain fun.
