LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
November 2017 Book of the Month
The title of course refers to Puck’s line in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Lo what fools these mortals be!”. It is a new period for Cornwell who is most famous for his Regency “Sharpe” series and more recently for the Viking Last Kingdom series. This has less battles and bloodshed, more intrigue and infighting, as William Shakespeare’s younger brother struggles to survive as an actor amid the squalor and splendour of Elizabethan London. He wants to grow up and “take men’s parts” in the plays but his youth and good looks keep seeing him cast as a girl, a dilemma peculiar to the period. I love Cornwell’s writing. His detail and characterisation well deserve the praise they so often receive. As I said this book is less bloody than many of his others. It is also set in a period more familiar to lovers of historical novels. It is wonderfully well-written and a must for his fans.
Reviewed by Sarah BroadhurstSarah Broadhurst spent her early working life in the book trade in both retail and wholesale until the arrival of children forced her to look for freelance work she could do from…
More reviews by Sarah Broadhurst About Fools and Mortals
New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell makes a dramatic departure with this enthralling, action-packed standalone novel that tells the story of the first production of A Midsummer Night's Dream--as related by William Shakespeare's estranged younger brother.
Read the full description
Find This Book In
About
Fools and Mortals Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell makes a dramatic departure with this enthralling, action-packed standalone novel that tells the story of the first production of A Midsummer Night's Dream--as related by William Shakespeare's estranged younger brother.
Lord, what fools these mortals be . . .
In the heart of Elizabethan England, Richard Shakespeare dreams of a glittering career in one of the London playhouses, a world dominated by his older brother, William. But he is a penniless actor, making ends meet through a combination of a beautiful face, petty theft and a silver tongue. As William's star rises, Richard's onetime gratitude is souring and he is sorely tempted to abandon family loyalty.
So when a priceless manuscript goes missing, suspicion falls upon Richard, forcing him onto a perilous path through a bawdy and frequently brutal London. Entangled in a high-stakes game of duplicity and betrayal which threatens not only his career and potential fortune, but also the lives of his fellow players, Richard has to call on all he has now learned from the brightest stages and the darkest alleyways of the city. To avoid the gallows, he must play the part of a lifetime . . . .
Showcasing the superb storytelling skill that has won Bernard Cornwell international renown, Fools and Mortals is a richly portrayed tour de force that brings to life a vivid world of intricate stagecraft, fierce competition, and consuming ambition.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780062250896 |
| Publication date: |
8th January 2019 |
| Author: |
Bernard Cornwell |
| Publisher: |
Harper Paperbacks an imprint of HarperCollins |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
384 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
|
| Other Genres: |
|
| Recommendations: |
|
Press Reviews
Bernard Cornwell Press Reviews
Praise for Bernard Cornwell:
Like Game of Thrones, but real OBSERVER
Blood, divided loyalties and thundering battles THE TIMES
Strong narrative, vigourous action and striking characterisation, Cornwell remains king of the territory he has staked out as his own SUNDAY TIMES
A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined WASHINGTON POST
The best battle scenes of any writer I've ever read, past or present. Cornwell really makes history come alive George R .R. Martin
Cornwell draws a fascinating picture of England as it might have been before anything like England existed THE TIMES
He's called a master storyteller. Really he's cleverer than that TELEGRAPH
A reminder of just how good a writer he is SUNDAY TIMES
Nobody in the world does this better than Cornwell Lee Child
Author
About Bernard Cornwell
Born in Essex in 1944 Bernard Cornwell was adopted at the age of six weeks by two members of a strict fundamentalist sect called the Peculiar People. He grew up in a household that forbade alcohol, cigarettes, dances, television, conventional medicine and toy guns. Not surprisingly, he developed a fascination for military adventure. As a teenager he devoured CS Forester’s Hornblower novels and tried to enlist three times. Poor eyesight put paid to his dream, instead he went to university to read theology. On graduating, he became a teacher, then joined BBC’s Nationwide, working his way up the ladder to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland, then editor of Thames News. In 1979, his life changed when he fell in love with an American.
"Judy couldn’t live here, so I gave up my job and moved to the US. I couldn’t get a green card, and for 18 months the only thing I could do was write novels." The result was his first book about 19th century hero, Richard Sharpe, Sharpe’s Eagle.
In addition to the hugely successful Sharpe novels, Bernard Cornwell is the author of the Starbuck Chronicles, the Warlord trilogy, the Grail Quest series, the Alfred series and standalone battle books Azincourt and The Fort.
Bernard Cornwell owns houses in Cape Cod and Florida and two boats. Every year he takes two months off from his writing and spends most of his time on his 24 foot Cornish crabber, Royalist.
More About Bernard Cornwell
