Maryanne Fantalis

I got this for free from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers and I'm glad I didn't realize it was book 2 in a series before requesting it/reading it. I always prefer to read books of a series in order and I may have never read this book if I realized it was a book 2.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a bit of romance thrown in for fun, I recommend this book. It was a quick read and entertaining. I plan to find the first book in the series and read that, since I liked book 2. If you enjoy reading stories you probably already know (in this case, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing) from another perspective, give this a try.… (más)

Beatrice has spurned men and is not afraid to make her feelings known. Her uncle has decided it's time she is wed and King Henry VII visits the estate with his entourage. When faced with the man who broke her heart, will Beatrice find a way to forgive and secure her future? Or will a villain win the day?

I enjoyed Fantalis' first book so I was eager to pick this one up. Though I have a fondness for Shakespeare, I will admit I haven't read it in some time. Much Ado About Nothing is not one I know by heart, so I did find this retelling a little bit more difficult to enjoy. Beatrice's sharp tongue and wit took some time to get used to.

Still, the story was full of history, which I always appreciate. I believe this is respectful of the original source material.

For readers looking for a historical read with a nod to Shakespeare, I would recommend this one. I received a free copy from the author and all opinions expressed are my own.… (más)

As always, thank you very much to LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program and City Owl Press for giving me the opportunity to read this nice work in exchange for an honest review.
“Much ado about Nothing” is one of my favourite plays and adaptations from Shakespeare. My favourite version is the delightful one by Kenneth Brannagh, set in the beautiful Mediterranean Landscape, like the original play (Messina, in Sicily). I have also seen more “modern” (Joss Wheddon’s) or comical (Benedict Cumberbatch’s) adaptations and they are all right, but Brannagh’s continues to be my favourite one… along with this version.

Here the author translates the action to the England and court of Henry VII Tudor (and not Prince don Pedro of Aragon), and his queen Elizabeth (in the play the Prince is not married or engaged: “get thee a wife”), when they are young and not even married. I love how she has done it. I have watched recently two tv series about the period, The White Queen, and, more specifically, the White Princess, based on very recommendable novels by Philippa Gregory, so I have the facts fresh. Margaret de la Pole, my-lady-the-king’s mother is an important and well portrayed character. Princess Elizabeth, King Henry’s bethroted/wife is another lovely and well-portrayed character, a good addition. The villain is not Don John and not the prince’s stepbrother, but it works well.
Hero is Grace, Signor Benedick is Lord Edmund Benedict, but the main events are basically the same (Grace is sent to a convent, instead of left for dead, Henry and Elizabeth have marital life even before they are legally married), and Beatrice and Benedict here do have a past that we don’t see in the original play. But the same sharp wits, and it is a delight.

I liked very much this “translation”, and would gladly read “finding Kate”, the first installment of Maryanne Fantalis’ “Shakespeare’s women” series, about “The Taming of the Shrew”, which is a play that I also like very much.… (más)

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers group in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book is a novelised version of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" told from Beatrice's perspective. Maryanne Fantalis has made a spirited attempt to give a feminine perspective and has a done great job, in particular managing to show how "cribb'd and confin'd" the women in Shakespeare's time were in how they could live their lives. She gives a depth and complexity to the relationship between Beatrice and Benedict, showing Beatrice's original naivete as well as Benedict's more cynical but more realistic attitude. The other love stories - that of Grace and Thomas and King Henry and Princess Elizabeth - are also well drawn with the faults (ie in Grace being painfully perfect and Princess Elizabeth being shown as manipulative and scheming) more likely due to the original material and suggestive of how attitudes to love and marriage (and women) have changed. Fantalis was particularly clever in not trying to modernise the story, perhaps understanding that this is a story that is very much of its own time. She has her characters use Shakespearean English which again harked back to the original play and reminded the reader of the source material.

I am not sure of whether a reader without at least a basic knowledge of Shakespeare's works and his times (particularly his role as a Tudor propagandist) would appreciate this book but for anyone with an interest in Shakespeare it is a fascinating exercise. I look forward to reading Fantalis's other forays into giving Shakespeare's women their own voices.… (más)