The Shakespeare Mask — Newton Frohlich

Who wrote Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, 35 other plays, 104 sonnets, and at least two long narrative poems considered to be among the greatest, if not the greatest, ever written? William Shakespeare? For over two hundred years, esteemed scholars and actors have doubted that answer for many reasons, including Will Shakespeare's lack of education and travel and the fact that he left nothing in writing except his signature. The award-winning novel THE SHAKESPEARE MASK fictionalizes a more likely authorship. It tells the fascinating story of a precocious young nobleman who draws the attention of the Elizabethan court and of the Virgin Queen herself. A writer and patron of the arts, Edward de Vere is volatile, controversial, and brilliant. He leaves a trail of women and scandal in his wake. But his plays, when he's in the queen's good graces, charm the court. His sonnets turn feelings into sound. The rules of the court, however, say a nobleman may not publish. An earl's name is too sacred for the theater. If de Vere must write, he must do so anonymously. He must employ an almost-illiterate glove-maker from Stratford as his “mask”, a man we know today as Shakespeare. Newton Frohlich spent fifteen years researching the true identity of the poet and playwright who penned the most beloved works of the English language. The result is this ingenious and intimate portrayal of the complex man who a growing number of prominent scholars, writers, and actors believe wrote the works of Shakespeare. Edward de Vere's astonishing life, starting with his father's murder when Edward is a young boy to his close but difficult relationship with Queen Elizabeth to his compulsion to write plays as he travels in Europe, is portrayed here with all the skill and drama Newton Frohlich brought to his highly praised first novel, 1492: The World of Christopher Columbus. From the intrigue of the English court to the romance of Venetian canals, the magic and mystery of THE SHAKESPEARE MASK will keep you turning pages well into the night.