Shakespeare and me – Stories from Family History

Shakespeare and me – stories from family history

Juliet Greenwood

The advice when you are beginning as a writer is often to write what you know. So it felt strange to realise that it was only with my fifth published novel that I’ve actually done just that, drawing both on Shakespeare’s plays and my own family history.

The Shakespeare Sisters is the first book in a series I am writing for Storm Publishing. It is based around four sisters living in an impoverished and crumbling Tudor mansion at the time of the Second World War, who find secret messages in books of Shakespeare’s plays inherited from their mother that help them pursue their own destinies.

The series was inspired by my own family’s volumes of Shakespeare’s plays, complete with Victorian illustrations, that have been passed down the generations. We might never have been owners of a vast and ancient estate going back to Tudor times, but the books have still played an important part in our lives. I can remember that, as soon as I was old enough to hold them (they are huge and very heavy!), I loved looking at the illustrations, catching bits of Shakespeare’s stories and gradually straying into attempting to read the plays themselves. They meant that my first impression of Shakespeare was that of incredible, fantastical fairy stories, that I loved long before we studied them at school. 

It was an impression only emphasised by living near to Stratford-upon-Avon and being taken to see the plays at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre. The first play I was taken to see was supposed to be A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but due to a mix-up in the tickets it ended up as being Henry VIII. My parents were horrified, convinced that my brother and I were too young for such a ‘heavy’ play and would be bored. But I can still remember it as being entrancing. I might not have had much an idea of what was going on, but the costumes and the emotion from the actors drew me in, I can still remember them vividly. From then on, I was hooked. My memories are of seeing Ian McKellen long before Lord of the Rings, Patrick Steward long before Star Trek and David Suchet coming on as an understudy to play Orlando in As You Like It, long before Poirot. And most of all, I adored Judy Dench playing so many heroines in her inimitable way, I feel incredibly lucky. 

So, for me, Shakespeare’s plays have never been intimidating ‘great literature’, but gripping stories. Gradually, as I grew older, I also began recognising the truths contained within the language that make them so timeless, from passionate love, to ambition, to Lady Macbeth finally understanding the reality of what she has done, and can never be undone. It was something I’ve always wanted to bring into my own writing, but never known how – and also, after finally studying them as literature, never quite dared. 

The first idea came for The Shakespeare Sisters arose out of stories of my grandfather, who was a dreamer after a better life, and who loved Shakespeare, reading the plays before going to his work in a factory and naming his daughters after Shakespearean characters. Which is, of course, how I was given my own name, too. (Granddad did also, in a tale worthy of Shakespeare, head off on a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to find gold in Australia, but that’s another story!). 

I loved writing The Shakespeare Sisters, drawing on memories of the plays and having fun with the elements I enjoyed, while following my Rosalind as she escapes from the rich surroundings that threaten to become a prison, to head off into the world to find out about her own capabilities, about love, and always being true to yourself.

I’m now loving diving back into Shakespeare’s plays once more, as I follow the second sister, Kate, as she searches the secret of her own past in Italy. It’s an inspiration that will never end!  

The Shakespeare Sisters 

Four motherless sisters, raised by a distant father in a crumbling, ivy-choked country estate. A terrible war on the horizon that will tear an ancient family apart. 

Stratford-upon-Avon, 1940. Rosalind Arden, born into one of the oldest families in England, has grown up running wild through the walled gardens and secret passages of historic Arden House, known to have once been frequented by Shakespeare himself. But centuries of squandered wealth have left the family destitute, and Papa Arden plans to replenish the coffers by securing hasty marriages to the highest bidder for Rosalind and her sisters. Passionate and headstrong, Rosalind is quickly running out of ways to avoid this fate.

But then war comes to England, and not even Arden House can remain untouched. As food shortages grip the villages and England is shrouded by black-outs, Rosalind is unexpectedly swept into the orbit of soft-spoken aspiring architect Guy Thompson… just weeks before he’s sent to fight. Heartbroken, Rosalind knows she can’t return to the golden prison of Arden. With little more than a leather-bound book of Shakespeare in tow – a secret bequest from her mother – she runs away to London. There, she throws herself into the war effort, photographing the heart-wrenching aftermath of the blitz – building a life for herself she never thought possible.

Until death comes to Arden and Rosalind is called home to devastating news. With Guy having inexplicably cut contact and her father on the edge of ruin, Rosalind must choose between the life she has made for herself and saving her beautiful, broken Arden House, home to the man who has only ever tried to bend her to his will…

A heartbreaking and unforgettable story full of mystery that will have you reaching for the tissues. Perfect for anyone who loves Fiona Valpy, Lucinda Riley and Dinah Jefferies.

BUY HERE

Storm: https://stormpublishing.co/

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Juliet Greenwood

Juliet Greenwood has always been a bookworm and a storyteller, writing her first novel (a sweeping historical epic) at the age of ten. She grew up near Stratford-upon-Avon, and was inspired by an extended family of enthusiastic amateur actors and singers. 

After studying at Lancaster University and Kings College, London, Juliet worked at a variety of jobs, including creating puppet shows with underprivileged children and collecting oral histories of traditional villages before they are lost forever. She finally achieved her dream of becoming a published author following a debilitating viral illness, with her first novel being a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and her first two novels reaching #4 and #5 in the UK Kindle store. 

Juliet now lives in a traditional quarryman’s cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales, set between the mountains and the sea, with an overgrown garden (good for insects!) and a surprisingly successful grapevine. She can be found dogwalking in all weathers, camera to hand.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing