…“When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
— William Shakespeare , excerpt from Sonnet 18
Summary
This regency mystery centers around a woman named Miranda’s quest to find the lost manuscript of William Shakespeare. With the help of her father and fellow scholar Lord Robert Hamilton, she journeys to the abodes of Shakespeare’s past and uncovers a secret far more intriguing than she ever could have hoped.
Strengths/Likes
- Subject matter. I could tell that Hastings did her research (and it helped that she included some author notes about the historical accuracies/inaccuracies). Including a sonnet to introduce each chapter really tied the whole thing together. Her knowledge and research on the bard Shakespeare shined through and her description to detail brought me back to Stratford-upon-Avon when I visited it many years ago.
- The twist. Without giving too much away, I can only say that their discovery about Shakespeare’s sonnets was very satisfying and unfolded very well, given the evidence the characters were able to discover.
- Romance. While some readers may not like the fact that the romance was not the sole plot of this regency setting, I thought it was refreshing that the plot’s literary mystery took the forefront of the story. Since the focus was on the mystery, as Miranda and Robert pursued it, the reader was still able to see the romance between them blossom on an intellectual level.
Weaknesses/Dislikes
- The antagonist. While the author did a fine job crafting an antagonist as one to be hated—as any villain should be—I thought Miranda’s rival was a little too cliché/predictable in terms of his ambition to find the manuscript before her. This, to me, gave him more of a “mustache-twirling villain” resonance.
Author
I don’t think I’ve read anything from this author before, but her story was very engaging. If she wrote more stories like this, I would happily read another! Samantha Hastings has written quite a few books so I am curious to see what else she has written. More of her writing can be found at www.SamanthaHastings.com.
All-in-all, this was a very charming tale! I would recommend it to both Regency-era and Shakespearean readers alike, as well as historians and those who enjoy proper regency romances.
