Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady By Sally O'Reilly

Young Aemilia Bassano, once the Mistress of Lord Hunsdon, and then purported "Muse" and true love of William Shakespeare. She was part of Queen Elizabeth's court, lover of poetry and a feminist way before her time. She struggles to make a name for herself, raise her son, and live life to its fullest.

An intriguing plot, with a tough, determined protagonist. Aemilia is head-strong and rebellious, a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it. Which by all means was almost unheard of (for women) or this Era. With attention to detail and engaging dialog, I found myself pulled back into time as if I were part of the story.

Overall I found Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady, an intriguing, enjoyable read and feel others will enjoy it as well. ( )

Little does she know it, but author Sally O'Reilly wrote this book just for me.

Set in London during the late 1500s and the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Dark Aemilia has it all: Shakespeare, plague, sorcery, witchcraft, witty dialogue, great writing and hot sex scenes. I mean come on! Sally O'Reilly, I love you!

And the cover, oh the cover, simply stunning.

Based on a real person, Aemilia is an inspirational woman born before her time, thought to be Shakespeare's dark muse, struggling with the role of women in society and how little power they had over their destiny. She was England's first female poet, and in O'Reilly's hands she's intelligent, proud, headstrong and passionate.

Here's a great quote from Page 129:
"...all my other little aches and torments have gone. Those besetting symptoms that all of us in London must put up with: soot-wheeze, ale-runs, head-gripe, back-ache, lassitude and dread-belly - not to mention sundry scabs, carbuncles and lesions of the skin - all such ailments have vanished."

And this from Page 270:
" 'Leave this house', I say. 'Get out, you scripture-spouting, fish-cold arse-wart. Or I'll call down a curse which'll curdle the guts in your belly'. "

Brilliant writing, richly evocative and an intelligent story, I loved and adored this novel and didn't want it to end.

Dark Aemilia is for lovers of historical fiction, witty dialogue, Shakespeare and the darker side of London in the 16th Century. Yes please! I can't wait to see what talented author Sally O'Reilly writes for me next. A tale worthy of the Bard I'm sure. ( )

Shakespeare: tick. Possible identity of the Dark Lady: tick. Supernatural, witches and demons: tick. Stinking, plague-ridden London: tick. The Globe, white-faced boy actors dressed in velvet, smoke, whistles and special effects: tick.
Based on a foundation of history, O’Reilly tells the fictional story of real-life Aemilia Bassano and her love affair with William Shakespeare. There is no documentary evidence that this affair took place, but O’Reilly’s imagination conjures a rich story in which the setting of Elizabethan London is vibrant and believable. Wherever Aemilia goes – in an apothecary’s shop, in the audience at The Globe or standing at the edge of a plague pit – you can see, smell and hear her London.
Aemilia is something of a feminist, in that she struggles against men her whole life for the freedom to live her own life. Orphaned at 12 she becomes mistress to Lord Hunsdon [readers of Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ will be interested to know that Hunsdon was the real-life Henry, son of Mary Boleyn] but during an affair with Shakespeare, Aemilia falls pregnant. Hunsdon arranges a marriage for her to her cousin Alfonso Lanyer, and so Aemilia’s destiny is determined at each stage by men. Father, protector, husband, lover and son.
She is a fascinating character, a woman of her time or before her time? As a poet and a lover, her influence on Shakespeare is at the core of this book. But then with her son dying of the plague, she turns to witchcraft and so the wilder element of the story takes off. I admit to skipping some of these sections. For me, the interesting plot was Aemilia, Shakespeare, the Globe and the writing of ‘Macbeth’ and consequently for me the book could have been shorter.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

The book takes place during different important years during her life.

Aemilia is first the mistress of a powerful man and she had everything. She is happy with her lot in life. But the title already says is and the passion she and Shakespeare share drives them mad for each other. That is the first part of her life. Meeting Shakespeare, and losing it all.

The second part takes place when she is married to a gambler and her old life is long gone. She has a son. She still wants to write. But this was not a time for women, men were the writers. In this part something, well I do not want to call it paranormal, let's just call it witchy, comes over it all. Superstition, needs and wants sets her on a different road. It's a shitty life to be honest. I can feel the smell and dirt that was the early 1700th century. And it was not pretty and people were fools.

The last part, oh I am not gonna say everything that happens.

She was real, if she really was Shakespeare's dark lady we do not know. But I quite like how O'Reilly portrayed it here.

Love, passion, need. Witchcraft, sorcery and poetry. Plague, death and despair. Yes this book really gives us all of it. ( )

This novel really captures the spirit of Shakespearean England, and it's themes play out like one of the bard's plays, complete with scorned lovers, devious plots, and witchcraft. Based on the historical figure of Aemilia Bassano, who just may be an inspiration for Shakespeare's Dark Lady, this novel presents Aemilia and Shakespeare as passionate lovers and writers, whose passion drives them apart as much as it unites them. Well worth the read! ( )