Sung in Shadow

by Tanith Lee

For the first time in e-book format, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet from a master of dark fantasy.

In the land of Santa Verensa, the great aristocratic Houses thrive on vendetta. Although their feuds are rooted in politics, generations of grievances have made the conflict dangerously petty and bitterly personal—a society where people live and die by the Name they bear.
 
Romulan Montargo, heir to his family, revels in the feud. Meanwhile, Iuletta Chenti, the only child of Chenti Primo, the family’s patriarch, has spent her life sheltered. The Montargos and the Chentis have hated each other for decades, but when Iuletta first sets eyes on Romulan, she knows they are meant to be together. Determined to win his affection, she casts a charm on him to draw him to her, and the two fall in love.
 
But Iuletta is already betrothed to the Belmorio heir, and her temperamental cousin Leopardo hates the Montargos with a murderous passion. If the young lovers are to be together, they must defy their families and defy their fates, reclaiming their chance at a happy ending.
 
Tanith Lee beautifully reimagines Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of star-crossed lovers and bloody revenge with an added fantasy twist.

Genres: Fantasy, Shakespeare, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

349 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 3, 1983

About the author

Tanith Lee was a British writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. She was the author of 77 novels, 14 collections, and almost 300 short stories. She also wrote four radio plays broadcast by the BBC and two scripts for the UK, science fiction, cult television series "Blake's 7."
Before becoming a full time writer, Lee worked as a file clerk, an assistant librarian, a shop assistant, and a waitress.

Her first short story, "Eustace," was published in 1968, and her first novel (for children) The Dragon Hoard was published in 1971.

Her career took off in 1975 with the acceptance by Daw Books USA of her adult fantasy epic The Birthgrave for publication as a mass-market paperback, and Lee has since maintained a prolific output in popular genre writing.

Lee twice won the World Fantasy Award: once in 1983 for best short fiction for “The Gorgon” and again in 1984 for best short fiction for “Elle Est Trois (La Mort).” She has been a Guest of Honour at numerous science fiction and fantasy conventions including the Boskone XVIII in Boston, USA in 1981, the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, Canada, and Orbital 2008 the British National Science Fiction convention (Eastercon) held in London, England in March 2008. In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious title of Grand Master of Horror.

Lee was the daughter of two ballroom dancers, Bernard and Hylda Lee. Despite a persistent rumour, she was not the daughter of the actor Bernard Lee who played "M" in the James Bond series of films of the 1960s.

Tanith Lee married author and artist John Kaiine in 1992.

Reviews

[Raymond Elmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Lee showing her highest quality of narrative word-crafting. It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. We know (or suppose we do) how the story must go. If Lee steps outside Shakespeare's lines, then cry havoc and let slip the dogs of critics. But Lee is way ahead of the hounds.

There is poetry in this re-telling; and sly humor, and outright beauty. We enjoy the enhancement of characters we've long seen on stage. Nothing here is false to the bard; each character is true to his stage counterpart. And yet... Lee gives us so much more in text, then William's poor players strutting their parts on the stage.

"I die of a pox of houses." That's a line to make William laugh.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was obvious early on that this was a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet with the names changed and it started off promisingly. However, as I only know the play in general outline and the beginning/end, I wasn't aware until the scene arrived that a certain character is killed off quite early in the story. As this was my favourite character in the book, and the two leads are very bland, I lost interest and the rest of it dragged rather, despite the good writing style. There was also what I found a rather unnecessary pseudo-incest subplot between two villainous characters involving a reoccurrence of a motif often found in Lee and which I'm not keen on - the woman who "enjoys" male sexual violence. So overall, can only rate this an OK 2 stars because a 3 star on Goodreads would mean "I liked it" which sadly wasn't the case.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never would have dreamed I'd rate a fantasy retelling of Romeo & Juliet this highly, but it's stunningly well done in every respect. The writing is lyrical and evocative without becoming florid; the characterizations are concise but thorough; the full range of human emotions is delineating without sentimentality or cynicism. I'd never read Lee before, and I can't wait to see what she does with one of her own plots.

[Avis Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simply brilliant retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, this book contains some of Lee's very best prose writing.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great fucking time for 90% of the book but then why was the devil in it??? And why was he friar Lawrence?? And why did they LIVE????????? Like fundamentally Friar Lawrence is a figure with his own motivations who machinates the death of two teenagers (or at least is callous with their lives) to bring peace to their families and I just do not understand what role Fra Laurus was meant to play beyond magician and possibly the devil. And crucially, Romeo and Juliet, famously Romeo and literally Juliet, DIE??????

Ok all that aside this was the exact amount of batshit I love in a text. It was so lush with description it was balls to the walls ridiculous it really understood the spirit of the text (above spoilers aside) and more importantly it wasn’t hamstrung by faithfulness to the exact players in the text. It gave me Shakespearean stakes and beautiful language without trying to be Shakespeare. Just. The ending. Why. Pls Tanith I am begging you.

[Kaila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished at 5 pm on NYE, finishing up my goal for the year.

I don't know...am I falling out of love with Tanith Lee? Her good stuff is so good but her other stuff is so...not. This was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with a lost list of names that were hard to remember for some reason, all being made up and so meaningless. Usually I'm good at that (thanks, Robert Jordan) but for some reason these names could barely stay in my mind.

What is there to say about a retelling of Romeo and Juliet except it was a questionable choice?

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023: a book published the year you were born

This was a wildly imaginative, funny, and weirdly erotic retelling of Romeo and Juliet that wouldn't have left me bored to tears had I read it in my youth. I probably also wouldn't have appreciated it as much then as a child as I do now as an adult.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite fantasy novels of all time. Intricate, authentic, and surprising, from a brilliant writer

[Mely · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her creepy Mercutio traumatized me. Even at sixteen and unaware of slash, I didn't see the point of a Romeo and Juliet retelling which didn't have a hot young Mercutio who was clearly in love with an oblivious Romeo.

[ambyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

An extremely straight retelling of Romeo and Juliet, save for the final pages' happy ending. Tedious. I like and care about these characters less than I do in Shakespeare's version, and that takes some doing, because it is far from my favorite play.

[Knight Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty strange retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It was less about the feud and more about fighting to be together in a strange world filled with violence and misogyny.

[idiomatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

two things this book is great at
1) confidently remixing the original with no sense of preciousness
2) TRASHY LUSHNESS and WEIRDO EROTICS
this is all i ask.

[Suzanne Thackston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it years and years ago and remember liking it, but can't remember jack about it. Re-reading now, my bubble bath book.
Leaving the four star, although it might be closer to a three. I love Tanith Lee's writing hard, so that never goes away. The sheer beauty of it is compelling, as is, of course, the R&J story, my favorite of Shakespeare's.
But this version leaves the two kids pretty pale and uninteresting. The supporting cast, and the visceral gorgeousness of the setting descriptions, are compelling. But R&J are just beautiful (and weirdly identical) ciphers. I never care much about either one of them.
I doubt I'll reread this one ever again, unless I'm just spoiling for some lyrical writing and 'The Silver Metal Lover' isn't available to me.

DNF this time around. Yeah, there's some of the Princess's gorgeous descrips, but I'm bored out of my skull. Don't care about anybody in this book, and I don't understand why, but whatever. Donating.

[Julie Bozza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing! A superb piece of storytelling, that really had me on the edge of my seat for days - despite me knowing the Shakespeare play very thoroughly. Tanith Lee follows the main events of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", but deals with them differently. We know less about Juliet (which bothered me for quite a while), but we learn a lot more about other characters and their motivations. The story expands into the depth and width available in a novel.

As a teenager I used to watch the Zeffirelli film with part of me silently begging, "This time, this time, let it all work out." Well, I'm in my sixties now and Lee had me doing that again. Every now and then, someone is unexpectedly kind or generous or astute. More characters are involved in the happenings, and they are not all unsupportive of the young couple's love and marriage. There were times when I thought this really could work out this time - and partly because the people involved were just so human, damn it.

Ultimately, it's more complex than that, and there are fantastical layers to the tale. I won't spoil it for you! (But my oh my I would love someone retelling the story in this way as historical rather than speculative fiction.)

Highly recommended, whether you know and/or like the play or not. My favourite Shakespearian character is Mercutio, and Lee does him full justice. I can't offer praise any higher than that!

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such beautiful, poetic perversity, a parody of Romeo and Juliet which becomes its own entity, its characters filled with vibrant life. For Romulan Montargo and Iuletta Chenti, the doomed lovers are entirely too alike in their beauty, so much that they dazzle and smite those around them. Electra and Leopardo’s dark passion blazes as brightly as the two young lovers. The fathers, Montargo and Chenti are a study in opposites; stern severity and bellowing belligerence. Mercurio stole my heart (as well as many a heart in this book, including perhaps the devil’s?) with his song, his sarcasm, and the playful self-destructiveness his devotion to Romulan is wrapped within. He is only outmatched by Leopardo in dangerous destructiveness, a catly counterpart to Tybalt. Cornelia, Iuletta’s nurse, and her daughter, the madam Susina are welcome gusts of merriment, countering the cold and simmering malevolence of Electra, Iuletta’s mother. All of this passion poured together bubbles with a love which drips doom, yet delivers a different doom than the story it parallels. All together it was a fascinating brew, including snippets of Shakespeare as song, told in the flowery, yet witty prose of Tanith Lee, embellished with a gorgeous sense of pageantry.

[Algernon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is such a transparent retelling of the Romeo and Juliet plot, with dark magic worked in, that even the major characters and names are cloyingly similar. We are in a place like Verona, but not, and the setting never develops into a distinct place. There is wonderful, witty repartee — and a welcome exploration of the friendship between not-Romeo and not-Mercurio that Shakespeare doesn’t offer — yet many of the other relationships and characters are flat. It was my first read of a Tanith Lee novel, and I will surely try at least one of her others. This one, however, was occasionally entertaining but otherwise unmemorable.

[Ben Ulrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

an absolutely sumptuous re telling of Romeo and Juliet. for every detail that remains the same, there's the slightest subtle difference that makes you wonder: could fate be changed? And the WRITING, wowy ZOWY! Just absolutely enthralling, some of the most beautiful poetry and prose ive ever read. Read this for a lush literary experience.

[Karen Hannum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent writing, but not one of her best re-tellings.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Idk, more weird tanith lee things mixed in with the gorgeous writing.

[Sarah Koz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fucking bitch.

[Viridian5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, this novel brims with sexual tension, and not just between those two. Dueling is consistently compared to and depicted as sex. Susina's whorehouse features young women and men. As per Lee's usual, the novel has an dark, fevered atmosphere thick as poppy syrup and mines her favored territory of depicting the decadent lives of people so rich and jaded that they do horrific things to themselves and others just to make themselves feel something, though it features more violence (and sex-as-violence) than most of her novels. Plus you have the fun incest and a scene in which a man and woman pretty much rape one another. The ending left me shaking my head.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanith Lee is one of my favorite authors and this book is a good example of her talents. She has taken the univerally known classic tale of Romeo and Juliet, already retold and revisited in just about every possible way and made it her own unique tale to tell. As always, her lanquage is evocative and clear and she keeps a tight rein on the story line. Is this a fantasy? Of course. Does that make it better? Definately.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of the Romeo & Juliet storyline. I read this in high school and loved it then, re-read as an adult and felt it held up perfectly. Nothing shockingly different in the story line (heh) but with such beautiful rendering of the characters and the details of their world, this book has has left its mark in my mind.

[Brett]

Fantasy