Dark Aemilia: A Novel, by Sally O'Reilly
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Dark Aemilia: A Novel, by Sally O'Reilly
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New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceThe 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.
Dark Aemilia: A Novel, by Sally O'Reilly- Amazon Sales Rank: #1148791 in Books
- Brand: O'Reilly, Sally
- Published on: 2015-06-02
- Released on: 2015-06-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.91" h x 1.17" w x 5.79" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
From Booklist O’Reilly’s American debut is an imaginative take on the life of poet Aemilia Layner, a contemporary of William Shakespeare. O’Reilly posits a lifelong love between the striking Aemilia and the famous bard, a relationship that inspired some of Shakespeare’s more passionate sonnets. Aemilia meets Will in 1592, when she is the mistress of the much older but kindly Lord Hunsdon. Taken by her beauty and wit, Will pursues her, and the two begin an affair that lasts until Aemilia becomes pregnant. Hunsdon thinks the child is his and arranges for her to marry her charming but feckless cousin Alonso. Will is devastated, but when he walks in on his patron, Wriothesley, raping Aemilia, he misinterprets the situation and believes she has been unfaithful to him. They part ways bitterly, but as the years go on, their paths cross again repeatedly, igniting the ever-present spark between them. Though some of O’Reilly’s suppositions feel like reaches—particularly Aemilia’s involvement with Macbeth—this is a lively, vividly rendered novel about the dramatic life of an extraordinary woman. --Kristine Huntley
Review
“Wildly romantic.” ―The Washington Post
“More tantalizing than the thought of Shakespeare in love is the thought of Shakespeare in lust....Was the real Dark Lady this Dark? Let's hope so.” ―Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
“A textured work of historical fiction.” ―O, The Oprah Magazine
“I loved this book! Dark Aemilia wears its expert research lightly and is filled with all the passion, drama, and magic of Elizabethan England. Highly recommended.” ―Paula Brackston, New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Midnight Witch
“Sally O'Reilly's wildly romantic novel Dark Aemilia is a pleasure for anyone who enjoys well-crafted historical fiction and a special treat for Shakespeare lovers….She creates a fiery, proto-feminist heroine and entangles her in a star-crossed affair considerably more adult and complex than the teen romance enshrined in ‘Romeo and Juliet.'…Absorbing, satisfying fiction.” ―The Washington Post
“I just finished this, and I'm jumping at this opportunity to recommend it to book lovers far and wide… Dark Aemilia is a must-read for all lovers of Shakespeare and old England, and while it is written from the perspective of a woman, I am confident men will enjoy it, too. I am usually careful with my books, but this one quickly became a victim of dog ears and pencil-marks, because O'Reilly touches on so many crucial historical moments and writes with such intelligent elegance.” ―Anne Fortier, BookPage
“We all know Shakespeare wrote love sonnets. Now, O'Reilly's new novel brings us the Bard's sonnet-writing lover and sonnet-inspiring muse.” ―The New York Post
“Draped in the lure of magic and fantasy that weaved its way through many of Shakespeare's plays, Dark Aemilia lives and breathes the late 16th century ….O'Reilly's debut novel is a sweeping success, a tale full of action and intrigue and as deep as any ocean. Live vicariously through the eyes of one of the first proto-feminists to have lived. See as the author steps into her head and creates a world that is more realistic than the one outside your window. Let this book redefine the way you see love.” ―Bookreporter
“A gripping novel that gives feisty feminist voice to the unknown woman who inspired Shakespeare's sonnets… O'Reilly brings her star-crossed lovers together and drives them apart through plot twists that are, for once, credible outgrowths of the characters' personalities and beliefs, finally giving them a tender, heartbreaking parting. First-rate historical fiction: marvelously atmospheric and emotionally engaging.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“[Dark Aemilia] mesmerizes with its descriptions of the Bard's London…O'Reilly casts her story with witches, doomed royals, evil courtiers, and star-crossed lovers, as if it were a Jacobean play. But her finest accomplishment is not the tribute she pays to these historical figures, but the bold imagination she displays in bringing them together.” ―Publishers Weekly
“With elegant style, masterly wordplay, and an eye for historical detail, O'Reilly beautifully relates a passionate and tragic love story, worthy of two such well-known figures. With Shakespeare's 450th birthday approaching this April, fans of historical fiction writers such as Philippa Gregory, Anne Easter Smith, and Tracy Chevalier won't want to miss this one.” ―Library Journal
“O'Reilly's American debut is an imaginative take on the life of poet Aemilia Layner, a contemporary of William Shakespeare…. This is a lively, vividly rendered novel about the dramatic life of an extraordinary woman.” ―Booklist
“Dark Aemilia is a magical, ravishing literary masterpiece. Sally O'Reilly is an outstanding storyteller, at once devilish and divine, and her unique, sparkling prose makes every paragraph a delight. Bursting with historic detail and famous characters, yet utterly surprising, Dark Aemilia is an absolute must for anyone interested in Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, theatre, literature....or even just old England, through feast and fear, plague and poetry. It is not a book for the squeamish, but those who screw up their courage and enter O'Reilly's London will be richly rewarded.” ―Anne Fortier, author of The Lost Sisterhood and the New York Times bestseller, Juliet
“Sally O'Reilly's novel provides a gorgeous gush of words: earthy, brilliant, succulent. Her scenes give us juicy berries and bloody meat to eat. When did we last savor such a substantial feast? The taste is familiar but heightened: sex can be an ecstatic, ever-lasting mating of kindred minds and hearts; mother love can take a woman to hell and back. There's more, but those themes fill my plate and overflow my cup. Hats off to Sally O'Reilly!” ―Sena Jeter Naslund, bestselling author of Ahab's Wife; Adam & Eve; and The Fountain of St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman
“A richly imagined portrait of Shakespeare's muse and mistress, Dark Aemilia has all the fire and beauty you'd expect from a romance about the Bard. Aemilia is modern in her sensibilities, using her wits to guide her through a Shakespearean-era England that is both familiar and revealing. Sally O'Reilly has written an irresistible novel.” ―Danielle Trussoni, author of the bestselling Angelology series
“In Dark Aemilia, Sally O'Reilly whisks us through the passion, prophecy, and plague of Elizabethan London, alive to its beauties and unsparing of its horrors...Gutsy and ambitious, Dark Aemilia is a dark tale, darkly told.” ―Katharine Grant, author of Sedition
“Dark Aemilia makes one gasp with pleasure and nostalgia for a world one never knew. It is profoundly romantic and erotic yet intelligent, glittery in its descriptions yet wholly believable and very stirring. How glad one is to live now, but how one envies the past!” ―Fay Weldon
About the Author Sally O'Reilly has received numerous citations for her fiction, which has been shortlisted for the Ian St James Short Story Prize and the Cosmopolitan Short Story Award. A former Cosmopolitan New Journalist of the Year, her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Sunday Times, the Evening Standard, and the New Scientist. She teaches creative writing at the Open University and the University of Portsmouth in England. Dark Aemilia is her U.S. debut.
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Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Love the Period, But Not the Protagonist By Barbarino Aemilia Bassono, enjoyed the advantages of being mistress to Lord Hunsdon for years, he was an excellent protector and provider. During their relationship she had an affair with William Shakespeare. Later she marries her cousin Alfonso Lanyer, a poor life partner, and raises her son far from the glitter and prosperity of court.I'm trying to figure out why this novel didn't work for me. I love fiction set during the Elizabethan period especially if it includes the plague, which this novel does. The period details are well done, including details about clothing, marketing, food, music and the customs of the Queen's court. The backdrop created for this story is rich and lush and alive with the sights and smells of London.I did enjoyed the beginning of the story where Aemilia and Shakespeare were involved but looking back, even that portion of the book left me wanting. I guess what was missing was a depth of emotion on Aemilia's part, I just didn't feel the passion or the disappointment for the turn of events that cause Aemilia and William to part ways. I also didn't care for the timing of the critical plot element which created the tension and conflict between them, it felt somewhat contrived.While enjoying most of what I was reading I disliked the heavy-handedness of the theme of male domination and female submission, I found it and the claim of Aemilia's cleverness somewhat redundant. I wanted to see her cleverness in action and not just be told repeatedly that she was `as clever as a man'. I also didn't care for the supernatural thread that ran through the story, it felt underdeveloped. Other events also seem contrived. Aemilia's being summons to the Queen's death bed seemed very unlikely and the subsequent conversation the two women have even less likely. When the queen dies soon after, Aemilia decides to risk contagion from the plague to go see the Queen's funeral procession and offers us her reason as wishing to see the queen one more time, despite having just seen her. As I'm reading all of these things are niggling at me.Other things bothered me, I was disappointed by the impromptu reunion between Aemilia and William as well as his lack of reaction to seeing a certain family member. And I realized I disliked Aemilia when she was cruel to her neighbor and supposed friend, Anne for the way she makes ends meet. This is the woman Aemilia confesses to thinking of another man while bedding her husband, Alfonso. Aemilia then tells us that Will is this other man, which was rather obvious to anyone reading the book. Aemilia was a writer but we hear very little about her writing and what she's written. I confess to throwing in the towel when the carter collecting the corpses of the plague victims begins to sexually assault one of the corpses. Calling out "Who wants a lick of these fine dugs?" Dugs being slang for breasts and used six times prior to this occasion.I'm sorry, this just wasn't for me and I didn't think the things I disliked were going to improve. Other readers might not be bothered by the issues I had with the story but I couldn't get past them.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Dark Aemilia By Leeanna Chetsko DARK AEMILIA is a book that didn’t work for me. I gave up at the halfway mark because I didn’t care about Aemilia at all, her story, or what was going to happen next. I’m a reader who tries to finish every book I start, but I just could not get into this one.The summary for the book gives away all of the important information about Aemilia. She’s educated as well as any man, is Queen Elizabeth’s favorite, wants to write poetry, and her beauty and wit have caught the eye of Lord Hunsdon. Instead of reading about her education or why she loves poetry, we’re plopped into her life where she’s already Lord Hunsdon’s spoiled mistress. Supposedly, she likes her position, but when she encounters William Shakespeare, she risks everything to have an affair with him.Aemilia isn’t a very likable character, but that isn’t what bothered me about her. She’s an anomaly for her time: an educated woman. She’s an Elizabethan feminist. She doesn’t want to be her husband’s property. She wants to write poetry, not be scoffed at for trying to do so. That’s all admirable, and I liked that about her. But what bugged me is that for someone so smart, Aemilia never learned from her past mistakes. She would brag and brag about her education and knowledge, but never used all that education and knowledge to try to make her life better. Her husband wasn’t the brightest, so I kept thinking she could have outwitted him somehow to improve her lot in life.I quit reading DARK AEMILIA at the halfway point because I wasn’t into the story or Aemilia. And it was a struggle for me to get that far. I read and enjoy a lot of historical fiction, but this just wasn’t my cup of tea. I recommend checking out an excerpt if you’re thinking of reading this book.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Spellbinding Novel By G. Messersmith This is a brilliantly imagined and well written novel of a famous female poet from the Elizabethan Age. I learned about Aemilia Lanyer during my undergraduate years in a Women's Literature class and afterwards bought her book of poetry. It has long been rumored that Aemilia was Shakespeare's mysterious dark lady of his famous sonnets but O'Reilly does such a spectacular job of bringing their story to life, you will be a believer after reading this novel.O'Reilly does a great job of intertwining history and fiction. Aemilia is the daughter of an Italian musician who grows up in the court of Elizabeth I. Aemilia is smart, well educated and quite witty. She becomes the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, the Lord Chamberlain and Queen’s cousin, who she truly adores until she meets Will Shakespeare. Aemilia and Shakespeare have an on/off again relationship with too many twists to repeat here. Aemilia marries a court musician but continues her relationship with Shakespeare throughout her marriage and even has a son by Shakespeare. I won't spoil the novel by telling too much here but the story is truly spellbinding.There's even some supernatural events in this novel which involve witchcraft and of which I can say no more - you must read this novel to find out why Aemelia turns to witchcraft to solve her problems. Further the characters are delicious and the story is fast paced and very enjoyable. I cannot recommend this novel enough. It is a must read!
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