Murder In Stratford: As Told By Anne Hathaway Shakespeare

by Audrey Peterson

"When a famous man dies," says Anne Hathaway Shakespeare, "it's always the men who write about his life. Why don't they ask the wife?" And so she tells the story "the way it was," including their early days, William's rise to success as a playwright, and his involvement in the treason that threatened the life of Queen Elizabeth I. Anne and Will's marriage is tested by distance and his fame, but when Will's boyhood friend, the handsome and arrogant Richard Quiney, is murdered in the garden of the Shakespeare home in Stratford-upon-Avon and Will himself is accused of the crime, the family faces their most trying time yet. Among their circle of friends and family, plenty of people had reason to wish Richard dead, but it wasn't until Anne turned "detective" that the case was finally solved. A delightful tour of Elizabethan England makes Murder in Stratford a must-read for all fans of the Bard. Audrey Peterson fell in love with England when, as Professor of English at California State University at Long Beach, she traveled there to pursue research for scholarly publication, so it is no surprise that all of her mystery novels are set in England. Audrey lives in Huntington Beach, California, near her daughters and two grandchildren.

213 pages, Hardcover

First published March 21, 2005

About the author

Audrey Peterson is the pen name of Audrey C. Buckland.

“Audrey Peterson fell in love with England when, as professor of English at California State University at Long Beach, she traveled there to pursue research for scholarly publication, so it is no surprise that all of her mystery novels are set in England.” Willetta L. Heising’s Detecting Women provides some more background on this respected novelist:

Her six-book series featuring music professor, Andrew Quentin, and his former graduate student, Jane Winfield, begins with The Nocturne Murder [1987]. The pair spends a lot of time in England and on the continent, places which Peterson often visits. She told Contemporary Authors that the music background allows her to incorporate a lifelong interest in opera and concert-going. Like her second series character, Claire Camden, Peterson has done academic research in England, but has yet to solve a murder. She has written a study of 19th century writers, Victorian Masters of Mystery: From Wilkie Collins to Conan Doyle (1984). A Los Angeles native, she earned a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and taught English literature at California State University, Long Beach for 20 years.
. Source

Series:
* Jane Winfield
* Claire Camden

Reviews

[Linden · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is essentially in two halves: a biography of Will and Ann Hathaway Shakespeare and the whodunit about the murder of Richard Quiney, with Shakespeare accused as the killer.

I did enjoy the idea of Ann as detective. She comments on how history was written by men; how much more could be known, she says, had historians asked the wives of notable men for their perspectives.

However, the structure of the book was problematic. The author mentions the murder on page two and then embarks on a long biography of Shakespeare on page three. I felt impatient that it persisted for the first half of the book. While it didincludeQuiney,itfeltgratuitous,likeabaitandswitch. ThoughPeterson called this background, the focus was on Will and Ann's relationship with him.

When the reader finally arrives at the event at which Quiney is murdered and the mystery solved, the story is strong and plausible. But following dozens and dozens of biographical pages (actually even many dozens more), those rewards felt like small recompense for having to wait so very long for them. (211 p.)

[scherzo♫ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did expect the author to play fast and loose with the facts of Shakespeare's life, but not to get things wrong for no reason.

Not recommended for anyone with enough Shakespearean knowledge to know who was on the throne when Macbeth was written.

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. Obviously the author is a Shakespeare fan, and if I was more familiar with his plays I think I would have enjoyed it more. Still, an interesting story and easy read.

[Lacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

A thinly written murder mystery that I only read because I was visiting Stratford-Upon-Avon.

[Carolyn Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow-moving and without much in the way of detection.