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The Last Bard
The bestselling author of Who Let the Gods Out is back with a brand new story packed full of humour and heart!
Will Davenant has known more tragedy than laughter. But in an unexpected twist, he inherits his grandfather’s copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – and makes a surprising discovery.
As the last living relative of William Shakespeare himself, Will can summon the Bard’s heroes from the pages . . . and now he has some extraordinary new friends to help turn things in his life around.
• Superstar Maz Evans – bestselling author of the Who Let the Gods Out and Oh Maya Gods series – is BACK with a new standalone story!
• Packed with timeless literary heroes, Maz's trademark humour and heart, and told with empathy and poignancy.
• Celebrates and introduces reader to some of William Shakespeare's best-loved characters in a comic, accessible way.
• Over half a million copies of Maz's books sold in the UK alone!
Will Davenant has known more tragedy than laughter. But in an unexpected twist, he inherits his grandfather’s copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare – and makes a surprising discovery.
As the last living relative of William Shakespeare himself, Will can summon the Bard’s heroes from the pages . . . and now he has some extraordinary new friends to help turn things in his life around.
• Superstar Maz Evans – bestselling author of the Who Let the Gods Out and Oh Maya Gods series – is BACK with a new standalone story!
• Packed with timeless literary heroes, Maz's trademark humour and heart, and told with empathy and poignancy.
• Celebrates and introduces reader to some of William Shakespeare's best-loved characters in a comic, accessible way.
• Over half a million copies of Maz's books sold in the UK alone!
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 11, 2025
6 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 11, 2025
Thanks to Chicken House for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love Maz Evans and I love Shakespeare, so what more can you ask for!
Oh this was beautifully addictive right from the off. It's so much fun and is so creative.
What I enjoyed is that most child readers will just take it for what it is, they're unlikely to be clued up on the works of Shakespeare, but as an adult reader, I was able to appreciate all the Shakespearean touches Maz has added.
It's got so much heart to it. It's about family, love, estrangement and reunions, friendship, forgiveness, grief, longing, regret, community, doing what's right, being a part of something, helping others, peace, joy, and hope.
It's got a bit of everything. It's definitely my favourite kids books of hers so far. And I think probably the most suited to an adult reader too. There's so much for all ages to get stuck into.
It's a great mix of fun and mayhem, magic and emotion - oh so much feeling! You'll be laughing and crying on the same page.
There's so many characters in this, most of them goodies but there are some you could call baddies, and they're all so well written, so layered, and so familiar. There are some that are more main characters than others obviously, but there never felt like there was a hierarchy, each character played their own part in this wonderful story.
There isn't really scope for a sequel or a series, and so it's unlikely to be anything other than a single book, but I'd like to revisit Will and Ani in future, see how they're getting on and how their experiences in this book affected them. I'm also quite interested to see how Maz would have worked this story into an adult book, how that would compare?
I love Maz Evans and I love Shakespeare, so what more can you ask for!
Oh this was beautifully addictive right from the off. It's so much fun and is so creative.
What I enjoyed is that most child readers will just take it for what it is, they're unlikely to be clued up on the works of Shakespeare, but as an adult reader, I was able to appreciate all the Shakespearean touches Maz has added.
It's got so much heart to it. It's about family, love, estrangement and reunions, friendship, forgiveness, grief, longing, regret, community, doing what's right, being a part of something, helping others, peace, joy, and hope.
It's got a bit of everything. It's definitely my favourite kids books of hers so far. And I think probably the most suited to an adult reader too. There's so much for all ages to get stuck into.
It's a great mix of fun and mayhem, magic and emotion - oh so much feeling! You'll be laughing and crying on the same page.
There's so many characters in this, most of them goodies but there are some you could call baddies, and they're all so well written, so layered, and so familiar. There are some that are more main characters than others obviously, but there never felt like there was a hierarchy, each character played their own part in this wonderful story.
There isn't really scope for a sequel or a series, and so it's unlikely to be anything other than a single book, but I'd like to revisit Will and Ani in future, see how they're getting on and how their experiences in this book affected them. I'm also quite interested to see how Maz would have worked this story into an adult book, how that would compare?
June 12, 2025
When a book makes me react with any emotion, I know I have been immersed in the story. The tale has engaged me completely. I can’t summon it up or manufacture it - it’s a reaction just as a cough or sneeze might be. This book had me laughing one minute and with the next page. I gasped and smirked and loved every bit of it. Maz has done such a great job creating a story that touches on every one of Shakespeare’s plays! A great mix of fun, magic, mayhem & emotion
I really engaged with the characters & cared about the setting! For ages nine & upwards.
I really engaged with the characters & cared about the setting! For ages nine & upwards.
November 13, 2025
THE LAST BARD is a tale of community and its importance.
The story riffs off many of Shakespeare's tales. It's not a retelling of any particular play but has nods to many of them, from Midsummer's Night Dream to King Lear to the Tempest and beyond. It was a fun way to pay homage to these tales without letting them take over the story - particularly as many of the intended readers will not be as familiar with these tales (because they haven't started GCSEs etc and so their exposure will largely come from their families and kid friendly versions found in libraries.)
This is quite a hard book to classify genre wise. A book containing Shakespeare's characters sounds like a fantasy, but they're not as big a part of the story as I thought. They're quite in the background and are the only magical element of the book. I think it's more of a contemporary about finding and fighting for a home and the community that can be built up if people invest in an area.
Building community is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, for a bunch of reasons, and I really liked how well this book put together the argument for its importance. The book shows a block of flats that a developer wants to take over for a luxury hotel - removing places of habitation for rich people to occasionally use - and really shows why we should be resisting this.
It's a book about finding love and community, about finding your voice and the courage to speak up. It's also about how tricky family can be and that sometimes you need to cut ties but other times you need to give them the chance or it might be too late. I really liked that such a range of family - found and blood - was present in this book.
The story riffs off many of Shakespeare's tales. It's not a retelling of any particular play but has nods to many of them, from Midsummer's Night Dream to King Lear to the Tempest and beyond. It was a fun way to pay homage to these tales without letting them take over the story - particularly as many of the intended readers will not be as familiar with these tales (because they haven't started GCSEs etc and so their exposure will largely come from their families and kid friendly versions found in libraries.)
This is quite a hard book to classify genre wise. A book containing Shakespeare's characters sounds like a fantasy, but they're not as big a part of the story as I thought. They're quite in the background and are the only magical element of the book. I think it's more of a contemporary about finding and fighting for a home and the community that can be built up if people invest in an area.
Building community is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, for a bunch of reasons, and I really liked how well this book put together the argument for its importance. The book shows a block of flats that a developer wants to take over for a luxury hotel - removing places of habitation for rich people to occasionally use - and really shows why we should be resisting this.
It's a book about finding love and community, about finding your voice and the courage to speak up. It's also about how tricky family can be and that sometimes you need to cut ties but other times you need to give them the chance or it might be too late. I really liked that such a range of family - found and blood - was present in this book.
September 20, 2025
An impressive standee display at Foyles got me curious about this book, where a descendant of Shakespeare learns that he can summon characters from his ancestor's plays, and becomes entangled in a scheme to prevent the block of flats he lives in from being sold. Evans' plot weaves together elements from numerous Shakespeare plays to construct problems that the protagonists have to solve, and provides an entertaining dynamic between the protagonist and a friend he makes as they go about putting things right in their neighbourhood. THE LAST BARD's Shakespearean allusions also include some pleasingly dreadful puns: my favourite was the punchline to a discussion about subdividing flat number 2 in the building ("2B or not 2B?").
However, THE LAST BARD features surprisingly small roles from the Shakespearean characters the hero summons, whose interventions in the plot happen largely offscreen, which strikes me as a missed opportunity. This book could also have built on the protagonist's initial disinterest in Shakespeare by having him learn to appreciate Shakespeare's work, which would also be informative for its target readership, who'll likely be studying his plays at school. Despite this, THE LAST BARD is a fun light read, and I'm a fan of any book that features an "exit, pursued by a bear" joke.
However, THE LAST BARD features surprisingly small roles from the Shakespearean characters the hero summons, whose interventions in the plot happen largely offscreen, which strikes me as a missed opportunity. This book could also have built on the protagonist's initial disinterest in Shakespeare by having him learn to appreciate Shakespeare's work, which would also be informative for its target readership, who'll likely be studying his plays at school. Despite this, THE LAST BARD is a fun light read, and I'm a fan of any book that features an "exit, pursued by a bear" joke.
October 12, 2025
This was an inventive and interesting take on the bard. As a fellow Shakespeare fangirl, I enjoyed spotting the hidden references to all of Shakespeare's plays. I loved the young protagonists Will and Ani, and Uncle Claude was a worthy Shakespearean villain with no redeeming qualities. However, despite much comedy and the sort of knockabout humour the bard himself adored, the book also manages to address some serious issues modern children may face - complicated families, taboo subjects, physical abuse.
I did find the sheer number of characters distracted from the magic of the enchanted book - I would have liked more of the world of words which emerged every time Will opens the Complete Works of Shakespeare. But these are quibbles!
I did find the sheer number of characters distracted from the magic of the enchanted book - I would have liked more of the world of words which emerged every time Will opens the Complete Works of Shakespeare. But these are quibbles!
October 14, 2025
A really enjoyable middle grade story about the potential heir of William Shakespeare. The author includes lots of nods to Shakespeares work, including characters and some storylines.
Will goes to help clear out his grandads flat with his mum and stumbles across a magic book, where characters come to life and this starts a series of events in the block of flats.
This made for a great audiobook, Maz Evans is a brilliant narrator and her story was fully brought to life.
The story packed so much in, including grief, adoption / foster care as well as bullying and abuse, but it was all written in such a sensitive way.
The book was fun, I loved the community vibes and the characters, including all the secondary ones, well, apart from the baddies and it was a great read.
Will goes to help clear out his grandads flat with his mum and stumbles across a magic book, where characters come to life and this starts a series of events in the block of flats.
This made for a great audiobook, Maz Evans is a brilliant narrator and her story was fully brought to life.
The story packed so much in, including grief, adoption / foster care as well as bullying and abuse, but it was all written in such a sensitive way.
The book was fun, I loved the community vibes and the characters, including all the secondary ones, well, apart from the baddies and it was a great read.
October 15, 2025
This was a great story with loveable characters and a really lovely approach to dealing with some very difficult topics around deaths and bullying.
The biggest flaw is the lack of plot involving the Shakespearean characters. They simply are irrelevant to the plot.
The reveal of Will's secret ability leads to no development of his character or opportunity for him to utilise his newfound skill. So much could have been done with the shakespeare connection alone. It feels like two stories ashed together where sadly the part that was sold to me through the title and blurb, simply are not relevant.
The biggest flaw is the lack of plot involving the Shakespearean characters. They simply are irrelevant to the plot.
The reveal of Will's secret ability leads to no development of his character or opportunity for him to utilise his newfound skill. So much could have been done with the shakespeare connection alone. It feels like two stories ashed together where sadly the part that was sold to me through the title and blurb, simply are not relevant.
June 9, 2025
Maz's trademark humour has a bash at the great WS. Telling your story is important, as Will and Ani find out when they join the fight to save Ani's home. Loads of jokes, one-liners and references to Sir W's plays are sure to appeal to readers, but there is plenty of heart, emotion and empathy too. Laugh, cry, enjoy.
June 21, 2025
WELL THIS WAS JUST DELIGHTFUL. Maz does storytelling as well as any Bard, and this just made me smile so much. Family, justice and friendships interspersed with nods to Shakespeare - just glorious. I loved Will and Ani so much. Claude is literally the devil and the ending was so satisfying. I’m sad this is over, but thrilled to add another Maz book to my collection!
November 12, 2025
Des personnages shakespeariens qui s’échappent dans une résidence pour personnes âgées au bord de la mer, quelque part au sud de l’Angleterre : le terreau parfait pour un étonnant remix de ces classiques et une galerie de personnages plus incroyables les uns que les autres.
Je n’attendais pas gros de ce roman et pourtant j’ai été emportée ! Je ne sais pas comment cette prémisse arrive à fonctionner, mais le tout est super prenant et low key passionnant.
Je n’attendais pas gros de ce roman et pourtant j’ai été emportée ! Je ne sais pas comment cette prémisse arrive à fonctionner, mais le tout est super prenant et low key passionnant.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews