''The Shakespeare Stealer'' is a 1998 historical fiction novel by Gary Blackwood. Taking place in the Elizabethan-era

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, it recounts the story of Widge, an orphan whose master sends him to steal ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' from The Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was an

ALA Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...

Notable Children's Book in 1999. Blackwood published two sequels, ''Shakespeare's Scribe'' (2000) and ''Shakespeare's Spy'' (2003).

Plot summary

In the late

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

, a fourteen-year-old orphan known only by his nickname, Widge, has learned shorthand, a method of rapid writing by means of abbreviations and symbols, from his previous master, a preacher who wants Widge to steal other preachers' sermons. Bass, his new master, wants to use Widge's skill to transcribe

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

'' before Shakespeare prints it. Widge sets off to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with Falconer, a ruthless man whom Bass assigns to ensure Widge succeeds. ''Hamlet''s performance so enraptures Widge that he forgets part of his assignment, and when he returns for a second try, his notebook is stolen. Widge eventually settles into the acting troupe by posing as a hopeful player, and The Lord Chamberlain's Men accepts him. For the first time, Widge feels part of a real family. But it's hard for him knowing his duty is to not be a part of this family but to steal from them. Falconer continues to press Widge to steal the play, resulting in a constant cat and mouse chase between them. After Falconer, who turned out to be Bass in disguise, dies in a duel with The Lord Chamberlain's Men shareholder Robert Armin, Widge remains at The Globe to work toward his dream of being a player.

Characters

SPOILER ALERT *Widge: an orphan who does not know his real name and was born around 1587. He is 14 in the story. Widge's previous master, Dr. Bright, taught him charactery, a shorthand language, to steal other preachers' sermons. His current master, Simon Bass, wants to use Widge's shorthand to acquire Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', which has not been printed for the public. *Alexander "Sander" Cooke: Widge's closest friend when he starts his acting career at the Globe Theatre. *Julia "Julian" Cogan: Widge's second-closest friend. The other players discover at the end that she poses as a boy, dreaming of becoming an actor, to be allowed on stage. After she is exposed, she works at a French diner. By the end of the book, she sets sail for France. *William Shakespeare: The playwright of the

Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a " playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Oth ...

and the ghost in ''Hamlet;'' Widge knocks down white paint over his shoulder. *Simon "Falconer" Bass: Widge's second master who wants him to steal ''Hamlet''. Bass disguises himself as a messenger, Falconer. At the end, Richard Burbage (Mr. Armin) reveals Falconer is Bass, as the latter dies. *Nick: An arrogant member the Lord Chamberlain's Men with Widge, Sander, and Julian. He does not like playing lower parts (i.e. women's roles) and often comes in drunk and late. A university student nearly kills him, but Widge saves his life. He accidentally pierces Julia's chest which leads to the discovery of her secret.

Awards and nominations

* 1998 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year * 1999

ALA Notable Children's Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

* 1999

ALA Best Book for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

Sequels

The novel's popularity led to two sequels, ''Shakespeare's Scribe'' (2000) and ''Shakespeare's Spy'' (2003). The three novels were published together as a trilogy in a single, 784-page volume in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakespeare Stealer, The 1998 American novels American young adult novels American historical novels Novels by Gary Blackwood Novels about William Shakespeare E. P. Dutton books