This clever novel focuses on the period in 1592 when, the theatres closed due to the threat of the plague, Shakespeare retreated to the country home of his young patron, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. Collins has expanded on facts and theories surrounding the writing of Shakespeare's sonnets and has come up with a delightful novel. We know, for example, that they were dedicated to a "Mr. W. H." and that Southampton, to whom both Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were dedicated, is a likely candidate. We also know that the first 18 sonnets strive to persuade a young man to marry, and scholars speculate that Wriothesley's mother may have hired the poet to write them. And we know that over time the speaker develops a passion for the young man that is disrupted by two triangles: one involving a rival poet, the other focused on the so-called "dark lady." By using a first-person narrator--Shakespeare himself--, the novel fleshes out the construction of the sonnets while creating a fascinating story.

Collins begins by developing a casual friendship between poet and patron that is engaging and believable. While Wriothesley often uses Shakespeare as a sounding board for his complaints (most of them against his guardian, the powerful Lord Burghley, and an arranged marriage), the two never quite forget the distinction of rank between them. As the story unfolds, Collins weaves in 32 of the sonnets as he imagines them having been written in response to developing events, and we are privy to the patron's critiques as well. Christopher Marlowe, clearly a rival for Wriothesley's attentions, shows up at the table, and Collins explores two candidates for the role of the dark lady, Emilia Lanier and Lucia Florio, wide of Southampton's tutor, John Florio.

I'm often overly critical of novels that fictionalize Shakespeare's life; too often they sensationalize minor details, make absurd leaps of fancy, or are just too clever for their own good in the way they attempt to integrate well-known lines and characters. The Sonnets, however, hits just the right note. ( )

This novel is a quick read. However, that is not because it is so good you can't put it down but rather because it is frivolous and lacking substance.
I didn't care for any of the characters and the only remotely interesting scene was where Marlowe's death is described.
By the end I was really getting tired of people using phrases in conversation that are the titles of Shakespeare plays. ( )

Warwick Collins' The Sonnets explores Shakespeare's life while he was writing his beautiful sonnets. The sonnets are often cited as the most autobiographical of Shakespeare's work, and here Collins rearranges and weaves them together to form a narrative about Shakespeare's love triangle with his patron the Earl of Southampton and the mysterious dark lady.

I loved the premise - using the sonnets as a basis for a historical novel about Shakespeare's life and loves is a brilliant idea and could really serve to infuse him with emotional life rather than the focus on the playhouse that most Shakespearean novels take. That said, I'm not sure the format wholly works here. In trying to let the sonnets speak for themselves by including so many of them, Collins doesn't give us much of his own interpretation of Shakespeare's emotions - which is problematic in a novel told in the first person. His Shakespeare seems overly detached from the world he inhabits - a characteristic often remarked upon by his patron, but which doesn't seem quite right given the deep conflicting emotions shown in his sonnets.

The method of incorporating the sonnets is also a bit awkward - even jarring. Often times they are introduced with a quick statement that Shakespeare has spent the night 'at his board'. Then the first two quartets (or so) are quoted, then the poem is taken over by one of his patrons reading aloud. This is very effective as a scene transition on film, but on the page it seemed strange and affected - particularly since it happened over and over again.

More at my blog.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free review copy through the LT Early Reviewers program. ( )

The Sonnets, by Warwick Collins, imagines the inspiration and historical context for Shakespeare’s sonnets. Though I’m no Shakespeare intellectual, I am aware that much of the writer’s life is shrouded in mystery and scholars have long wondered about his motivations. The story covers a two-year period when London’s theaters were closed (due to the plague) and Shakespeare would have been an unemployed playwright.

The author does a fine job mimicking Shakespeare’s voice and characterizes the Bard in what seems to be an authentic light. The novel also seems exceptionally well researched. When many hear the word Shakespeare, they think laborious, but the story was actually quick and light.

Unfortunately, that lightness also carries over to the characters themselves. I never formed a good picture of any of them nor cared about their story, Shakespeare included. I adore historical fiction and was excited to enter Tudor England, but I never felt involved in the historical period. There simply seemed to be something missing.

In the end, I found myself skipping sections and disappointed that such a great premise, that had obviously been finely researched, lacked the excitement I longed for when imaging the life of literature’s most admired, most wondered about, artist.

Review first published on Many A Quaint & Curious Volume ( )

I found this book light and nicely written - the combination of a poet writing the voice of a poet worked quite well for Shakespeare's characterisation and voice. ( )