Dark Aemilia — Sally O'Reilly

The daughter of a Venetian musician, Aemilia Bassano came of age in Queen Elizabeth's royal court. The Queen's favorite, she developed a love of poetry and learning, maturing into a young woman known not only for her beauty but also her sharp mind and quick tongue. When Aemilia becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, she fears her mind will languish--until she crosses paths with an impetuous playwright named William Shakespeare and begins an impassioned but ill-fated affair.

As Sally O'Reilly charts the course of Aemilia and Will's tempestuous relationship, she paints a vivid and richly imagined portrait of Elizabethan London--haunted by plague and steeped in magic--and breathes life into England's first female poet, a mysterious woman nearly forgotten by history. Full of passion and devilish schemes, Dark Aemilia is a tale worthy of the Bard.