Jodi Picoult has written an interesting novel regarding the provenance of Shakespeare’s plays. She posits that they were really written by an female English poet in that time period named Emilia Bassano. At the very least, Picoult suggests that Emilia was one of the collaborators writing the plays. She juxtaposes a present day fictitious ancestor of Emilia’s, Melina, a playwright who has trouble selling her plays since she is a female. The narrative then jumps back to 1581, mirroring Emelia struggles at that time, and this continues throughout the novel. I found it fascinating that Picoult was shown a painted miniature of Emilia, housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum, upon visiting London. Picoult is quite convincing, and I definitely recommend this to fans who can suspend disbelief long enough to read the 525 pages of the novel. An impressive undertaking on Picoult’s part…