Will

by Grace Tiffany

From novelist Grace Tiffany, whose debut novel, My Father Had a Daughter, was hailed as "richly detailed" and "enthralling" (Library Journal), comes the compelling narrative of the life of the most revered playwright in history.

Will Shakespeare has left Stratford for London and pitched himself headlong into the chaotic, perilous world of the theater. Through raw will-and an amazing gift for words-he raises himself from poor player to master playwright. But as his success earns him great pleasure and adoration from others, it also draws the jealous wrath of Christopher Marlowe, a baby-faced genius whose anger is as punishing as his poetry is sweet...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Shakespeare, Historical, British Literature

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Grace Tiffany is an American writer who lives and teaches in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her novels include MY FATHER HAD A DAUGHTER (2003), WILL (2004), THE TURQUOISE RING (2005), ARIEL (2006), PAINT (2013), GUNPOWDER PERCY (2016), and her latest, THE OWL WAS A BAKER'S DAUGHTER (2025). She has also translated writings by the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges and the Mexican author Maria Luisa Puga.

Reviews

[Karen M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and lots of history to flesh out the imagined Will Shakespeare and his long suffering wife. If I’m being honest it did become a little like a name droppers paradise and Marlowe, Donne , Bacon, Burbage,Jonson, Kempe, aged Elizabeth with white painted face, James ... merely ‘players with their exits and their entrances ‘. Yet the the story was a panoramic swirl with lines from plays and sonnets woven in , and it was fun - and tragic and irritating - as this interpretation of Shakespeare unfolded.
I did enjoy the way Anne and his family in Stratford became part of the fabric of his life and works , and the contrast between home and London but I will always have Duffy’s words ringing in my ears in her sonnet giving Anne a voice.

[Katherine Hebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and thoughtful book about Shakespeare's life including his "Lost Years" up to the fire at the Globe when he left London for good. The whole gang is here: the Burbages, Kit Marlowe, QE I, James I, Earl of Southhampton, Drake, Raleigh, Will Kempe, etc. Interesting (and logical) "explanations" behind the writing of the plays, the Dark Lady, and his relationship with his wife. Lots of Shakespearean one-liners zipping around. And as far as anyone else having authored his plays, she has a laugh out loud thing going on about that. Much better than her My Father had a Daughter.

[Lindsey Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Tiffany's earlier book "My Father Had a Daughter", and enjoyed "Will" almost as much. A great story behind the man of stories. He wasn't a very likable character, but I was still fascinated by him and greatly admired him. His relationship with his family and how it came out thru his plays was remarkably told by Tiffany, I look forward to more by her.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this last night at 22:00 thinking I'd read for a while and then sleep.

I finished this at 9 a.m this morning only because there was a power failure and my emergency lamp had run out of batteries.

It starts as a medium paced book. Nice enough as it starts with Will's career as a player/actor.
Then.
Oh, THEN.

It GALLOPS. IT PICKS YOU UP, TUCKS YOU UNDER AN ARM, AND IT RACES TO THE END LEAVING YOU EXHILARATED, WIDE-EYED WITH WONDER AND GASPING FOR BREATH!

It has been a while since I've read a book with which I've fallen in love so completely. If you love Will Shakespeare, the history of the time, and all his plays and sonnets - you're probably going to adore the book. It will definitely not disappoint.

(Also, spoiler? John Donne has a blink and miss appearance during which he gives Will an excellent piece of advice and believe you me - it is <3)

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this book. Several times I almost gave up. But I'm glad I finished it.

[Garnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reluctantly finished a trip to Shakespeare's London. To S's England. Did he despise Elizabeth really? To see all those famous players strutting through their lines again, what joy. And not in a sticky class but a fast paced novel. I spent a week with old friends.

It was such a good read as the Delaware Rivers up here in the Andes-Delhi area wreaked havoc with the water meadows, downing trees, spreading plague - no, wait, wait! that was then but somehow I was more alive to the book than the recent storms here.

Will was real to me, from his daydreaming on a tree limb instead of inept schooling. I can relate to being two steps ahead in elementary school, wishing to escape the humdrum, but the thing is Will actually did it. His mind full of words and rhymes. And the fact this book was written and researched by a college professor who teaches Shakespeare helped. I believed her, her research into novelization worked. She had enough clues to the plays and the sketches we 'may' know of his life. That's what pulled me in. I was actually excited reading, turning the pages.

So what if there is controversy about who wrote Shakespeare, debunking that it could have been THAT actor of the same name. I read a fairly convincing novel a few years ago - but not convincing enough to remember the title -- does that tell you something? That the hick actor did not have the sophistication or education that the Earl of Oxford did to write the plays. Well, Grace makes short shrift of that theory but not til the final pages.

And I personally do not care to engage in the politics of who-wrote-what.

All I know is I had to get up and pace the bookstore laughing, my bookstore btw, so riotously at the attributed joke to Christopher Marlowe: I AMB that I AMB. Now that's how the poets I knew and loved joked. Whether it was Marlowe or Prof. Grace, it worked. And so did her novel.

We travel play by play through the life of S - and the possible attributes of wife, brother, daughters, and son Hamnet.

If this book be treason, to scholarship, o well, it reads. And that's a fitting tribute to the Bard whatever his name.

And I think my daughter might even approve of it. Blends her favorite genres so well.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be better than it was. I was confused a lot, like it was just a lot of pieces from Will's life rather than a story of his life. I lost track of characters and after finishing, I went back and re-read half of the book to try and see what I might have missed the first time around. I thought that the character didn't really come alive to me... the author seemed to want to show his drive and his loneliness but didn't really fully achieve it because she was trying to smush so many details into one story. It was fun trying to guess the plays and I'm glad I know more about Shakespeare than the average joe since there were a lot of half-discussed things in the book. This puts me in the mood to read more about Elizabeth I and the 1500s (maybe Year of Wonders?).

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has depicted life in England when it was a crime punishable by beheading, to speak about the queen or be Catholic. This is the century in which Will, William Shakesphere, writes and lives his life. Will is the son of a glovemaker, a trade that Will works at to support his young family. Leaving for London, where he believes he is led and will make more money, Will leaves his wife and 3 children in Stratford on Avon to his regret. He not only writes plays but acts on the stage. Ficton as well as believeable witing with old English venacular. Truely amazing novel.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with this book is not the writing, but the plotting. Shakespeare’s life is well enough known to suggest certain conflicts and emotional peaks and valleys. Tiffany hits several of these in this novel. It reads very well, but reads very predictably. I might also fault the dialog for lacking subtlety, but that may be a subjective response. I suspect these things will not bother most readers and be caviar to the general.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have restarted this one as it was four months from first starting to completion - I enjoyed it. It was well written - the author knows Shakespeare and mixes truth with fiction to create a believable tale. I was a surprised I came away from it not liking Shakespeare as a person. Perhaps it was his tormented soul. No matter, the book was filled with interesting characters and funny dialogue. I would recommend for anyone who likes Shakespeare- as an interesting tale of part of his life.

[Alesha Hubbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It made me want to watch Shakespeare in Love; however, it was redundent after the first hundred pages or so. He wrote a play, something went wrong, the play was well recieved anyway. This cycle continued for most of shakespeare's later plays and nothing was said at the end of The Tempest either, which was a personal disapointment to me.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I didn't expect to like it so much. Ms. Tiffany does a great job of blending the top scholarship on William Shakespeare into a believable telling of his life. Especially impressive is her use of language in the dialogue. It's very authentic and reminiscent of Shakespeare's plays.

[glitrbug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. I enjoy books about Shakespeare and Marlowe. What was their relationship? Was Marlowe a spy? Who stole plays and sonnets from the others? I liked the interplay between the actors and writers but there didn't seem to be anything new here. The Promethean Cycle by Elizabeth Bear will always be the gold standard. Those books make you cry and sigh and keep you up nights.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good at bringing the man who was Shakespeare out to the reader. This is not the grand master we know but the man who lived humbly and dealt with the concerns of failing and the blows thrown at him by those who considered him a hack. It's a look at the daily movements of a future that is promised but in no way guaranteed. Again, as with her first book, beautifully imagined.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does for Shakespeare what 'Amadeus' did for Mozart. A speculative rendering of Will's personal life and struggles as an artist. A nice read, and like all good historic fiction, the author's authoritative research provides a thoroughly fleshed-out and informative setting for the events.

[BB · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book had a very accurate description of Stratford upon Avon where Shakespeare was from. What I didn't like about this book, is the revelation of Shakespeare's sexual orientation. I really didn't need to know that.

[Hilda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful tale about the life of William Shakespeare as a young man. I really enjoyed the history and the characters in this book.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a could-have-been-better fictional biography of Shakespeare. The author felt compelled to have him included in or aware of absolutely every event that took place in his lifetime. On the other hand, it was readable.

[Aubrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite novels. I love Shakespeare and this book really shows the raw human side of this legendary playwrite.

[Tom Hooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biographical novel of William Shakespeare. Interesting to see how his (adult) life unfolded, but a bit tedious.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's readable. But it's just dull. Dull dull dull.

[Alethea]

Much better book than I at first expected it to be. A chronicle of Shakespeare's entire life, centered on his plays and his tragic non-relationship with his children.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit to having a thing for novels about Shakespeare. This is a fun take on that theme.