lou's library

Guys, I think I have found a new favourite niche book genre that I’m obsessed with: Books featuring Shakespeare. These are either retellings of a Shakespeare play, often with a modern twist or different ending. Or, Shakespeare himself or his work feature heavily in the story of the novel, to the point where one could argue Shakespeare himself turns into his own character in the story. As someone who is trying to gain an ever deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s writing, I love books like that, as their usually innovative takes on his stories help me see new themes or shift perspective and that can be incredibly fun! So, without further ado, here are some of my favourite books featuring Shakespeare.

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid

As the title suggests, Queen Macbeth is a retelling of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. But while the latter leans heavily on witchcraft and has little to do with historical fact, Val McDermid retells the story from a female perspective, focused on what history tells us actually happened in Scotland all those centuries ago. Our heroine is Lady Macbeth, and yes, in this retelling she actually is a heroine, and not a murderous, cold-blooded madwoman as in Macbeth. Personally, I don’t have any beef with Shakespeare for taking some creative liberties in his version of the tragedy of Macbeth, but I do think Val McDermid’s version is fascinating. Readers should be prepared for some serious plot changes though, so please don’t expect this to be just another version of the Macbeth you know. The vibe is the same, though: dark and tense. And it had me hooked from the very first page, which is great, because this is a pretty short book. No page is wasted, though, and I truly felt as though I was right there with them in the Scottish Highlands. I think focusing on historical accuracy is not necessary in fiction, as the very word itself implies you are allowed to create whatever your imagination comes up with. But I loved seeing how Val McDermid managed to make history exciting, enthralling and so, so entertaining. I was rooting for Lady Macbeth and did not want this book to end. And no, you don’t need to know Shakespeare’s Macbeth to be able to enjoy Queen Macbeth.

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

Ohmygodwheredoistartwiththis?? I am OBSESSED with Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons!! It’s a retelling of my favourite Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet (very basic of me, I know, but the tragedy chose me, not the other way around) and it focuses on Rosaline. Rosaline? Don’t remember her name? You’d be forgiven if that was the case because in Shakespeare’s play she’s barely a footnote and only serves as Romeo’s crush before he sets his sight on Juliet and thereafter only has eyes for her. Fair enough, we all change our mind sometimes, but poor Rosaline!! Similarly to Queen Macbeth, Natasha Solomons took some artistic liberties with Shakespeare’s plot, but we don’t complain about that, because Shakespeare himself did the very same when he drew from the various sources of the play. More importantly: Natasha Solomons crafted the most beautiful and heart-wrenching Shakespearean retelling I have ever read. Yes, it’s romantic, but my God it’s also tragic and devastating and I loved these characters so much it broke my heart to leave them after I had read the last page. Fair Rosaline had me feeling as though I was right there with them in Verona and it made me appreciate the side characters in Romeo and Juliet so much more. It helped me shift perspective and made me realise how little there is to fangirl over about Romeo, while Juliet is actually really fricking badass. Oh, I just love the play that inspired this gorgeous retelling and whether or not you like Romeo and Juliet, I would highly recommend giving Fair Rosaline a try!! It’s written beautifully will stay with you long after you have read it.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Oh, Maggie O’Farrell. No one breaks my heart quite like her. And Hamnet is where it all started for me. I had heard this book was about Shakespeare’s family and the events in life that supposedly inspired Hamlet, and that was all it took for me to run to the book store to buy it. And boy, am I glad I did! Because this book is about so much more than Shakespeare (he’s actually never mentioned in the book, but it’s pretty obvious he is supposed to be Shakespeare), it’s about women keeping families together, about loss and grief, but also about love and how art can help us process our emotions. As all of Maggie O’Farrell’s books, it is deeply imaginative and has characters that are so human and lovable that you feel their pain as though it was your own. There is so little we know of Shakespeare and who he was, and Hamnet isn’t trying to be historically accurate, but instead focuses on the emotions of the man who wrote a tragedy as disturbingly painful as Hamlet. I loved every second of it, and oh, did I mention it is written in the most gorgeous prose? And that its movie adaptation is starring PAUL MESCAL AND JESSIE BUCKLEY? Not sure how I’m supposed to survive that trip to the cinema, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

A Bright Ray Of Darkness by Ethan Hawke

Who knew Ethan Hawke wasn’t just a brilliant actor, but also a literary genius? It really isn’t fair how some people just have it all. And I loved how he worked Shakespeare’s stories into his own novel, A Bright Ray Of Darkness. We follow a successful movie actor called William (coincidence? I think not) trying to make it on Broadway as Hotspur in Henry IV, while his marriage is falling apart due to him cheating on his wife. Needless to say, William isn’t in the best of places mentally, but throughout the preparations for and actual staging of the play, we see him grapple with his inner demons while attempting to do justice to his character on stage. It’s almost as though there are two separate identities at play, the one on stage and the one off stage. Except, of course, they are the same and William takes his personal struggles on stage with him. I loved how the choice of play mattered, it wasn’t interchangeable with any other play, but all the actors involved in it were grappling with their roles, trying to do it justice with their humanity often getting in their way. It’s evident that Ethan Hawke loves theatre, and I loved how he used a Shakespeare play to showcase the importance of art in times of emotional suffering.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

Okay, yes, I am rather late to the party with this one. But when I recently read If We Were Villains for the first (and surely not last) time, I fell in love with it, not least because of its beautiful inclusion of Shakespearean quotes in the dialogue. In case, much like me, you live under a rock and haven’t read this dark academia novel yet, it focuses on a group of drama school friends who slowly lose the plot (pun intended) as things spiral out of control. It’s a tale of jealousy, friendship, heavy mistakes, love and tragedy. M. L. Rio did the most gorgeous job of working Shakespeare’s language into her own prose, and I am still not over how beautifully If We Were Villains is written. Also: THE CHARACTERS!!! They practically jump out of the page they are written in such a convincing way. It’s clear how much the author adores Shakespeare and this novel is such a gorgeous tribute to him, but also a masterfully crafted story in its own right. There are quite a lot of trigger warnings for this, including murder, gore, physical abuse and substance and alcolhol abuse, so please make sure you feel up to it before reading If We Were Villains. And now someone please tell me how I am supposed to ever move on from this story??

There you have it, my favourite books featuring the one and only Mister Shakespeare! Please, please, please, let me know if there are any more books like this, because I must read them all!! If you’d like to read my thoughts on Shakespeare, you are in luck, because I have a blog post about exactly that here and also one on the very best of Shakespeare, in my humble opinion.