Fools and Mortals: A Novel

37-Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell (Novel-E Book-Fiction) 5* Welcome to the War of the Theaters...Bernard Cornwell style. Perhaps it's not the actual main event that history mentions but it is a very close re-creation of the history of the theater and the competitiveness between the different houses to obtain the most patrons and audiences..where money is to be made the stakes are high. In this work the author gives the reader Richard Shakespeare, yes the younger brother of famous William Shakespeare as the narrator of the story and the main protagonist. Through his eyes we see behind the scenes of the lives and turmoil which existed when choosing this type of life. The scenes are highly descriptive and I am ecstatic not only with the characters, costumes and venues but the total immersion into life in 16th century Elizabethan England. I thought it a brilliant piece of writing, well researched and the banter between the characters, sometimes witty, occasionally intense and often romantic is delightful. I always feel entertained when reading or listening to a work by this author, he writes some of the best lines spoken by characters and his scenes be it a battlefield scene or an intimate moment draws the reader in. At the end of the story Bernard Cornwell has included several pages of author's notes do not skip these they are informative and worth reading.

A refreshing change from the standard novel set in Elizabethan times, which usually takes place in and around Elizabeth I's court. Mr. Cornwell departs from his action-adventure stories to immerse the reader in the world of Shakespearean theatre. The story revolves around the first production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which is set to be performed at a wedding in the grand house of a noble family. William Shakespeare himself is in the cast, as well as being the closest thing to a director the theatre had in those days. Colorful characters abound in the cast, as well as in the household and in the city surrounding the theatre, which was a pretty dangerous place. The story is told from the point of view of Shakespeare's younger brother Richard, a talented actor who manages to get himself into unsavory and frightening situations, including having to steal back two of Shakespeare's manuscripts from a rival company. The description of the performance itself, once finally underway, is vibrant and riveting. A marvelous novel, and a glowing paean to the joys of acting.

It's very clear that this is a different sort of novel from Cornwell's usual military fiction, so anyone expecting soldiers, blood and battles will probably be disappointed. Instead, it's a very enjoyable romp through the Elizabethan theatre world, as told by William Shakespeare's younger brother, trying desperately to scrape a living in his unhelpful brother's shadow. Yes, there are some slow parts, but Cornwell's love of theatre shines through, and it all comes together in a satisfying finale as the first performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is staged.

Though I had heard of him, this was the first book I've read by Bernard Cornwell, so I was not comparing it with any of his many others. I was completely blown away. It's an absolutely fascinating look at the beginnings of professional theater in Elizabethan London, with an engaging narrator and a compelling plot. Young Richard Shakespeare is an actor stuck doing women's roles who longs to graduate to men's roles. His older brother, William, who doesn't like him much, is busy writing the play that will become A Midsummer Night's Dream to perform at a wedding that, it is rumored, the Queen will attend. The backstage drama is sometimes hilarious -- it's funny to think of actors quibbling about their lines with Shakespeare himself. The frequently brutal life of an impecunious actor is richly detailed. This was a great read -- absorbing and entertaining. It reminded me of C.J. Sansom's wonderful Shardlake series. I will be reading more by this author -- fortunately, it appears he is amazingly prolific!

Cornwell makes the story of how Shakespeare created and first performed his “A Midsummer’s Night Dream. It has a realyou are there feel...the times, how people lived especially actors or players as they were then called.

The main character is Shakespeare’s younger brother Richard and the relationship between them. Richard is ten years younger than William and fairly new to London and the theater scene and though new he’s already lived a lot both good and bad but most importantly he’s gained some important acting chops. It was tradition at the time for men and young boys to play the female parts because women in the acting were considered loose women. In fact a lot of the action was about 5he sway Puritan’s were powerful at the time, a time when Protestantism was still young and Queen Elizabeth worried about being dethroned by the Catholic faction.

Cornwell’s writing flows and the book moves quickly and enjoyably. Despite the large amount of writing Cornwell’s done this won’t be the last book of his I’ll be reading.

My husband, who is a big Bernard Cornwell fan, read this book for me and is reviewing it. He liked it. He said it started a bit slow but picked up the pace later. He liked all the history on the theatre and the theatre life. He said he learned some really interesting things about William Shakespeare so that was great. Husband says yet again Cornwell did excellent research and incorporated it into the story. The characters are well developed.Yet, he gives it 4 stars rather than 5 because he prefers Cornwell's other action-packed books. Yet, this could open Cornwell's reading audience up to even more people. Husband says men and women will like this book.

The Something is the dreamers of the world, those that do not have the same opportunities as many others. The central protagonist is not a King during this Tudor era but the real-life brother, Richard Shakespeare. Younger brother by 10 years to talented William, he is handsome, but receives a frigid welcome from William when he arrives in London.

Because Richard is so “pretty,” he is relegated to play women in his brother’s plays. From Richard’s viewpoint, his goal is to be promoted to male roles. This casting situation seems unique to the period. Cornwell imposes a large troupe of characters while creating a mystery. Lord Chamberlain hires Shakespeare’s company to create and perform an original play for his granddaughter’s wedding. William is visualizing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Plagiarism was widespread in those days; there were no copyright laws allowing anyone to perform the play if they could steal the script.

The book is loaded with details of the class system. The splendor and the squalor are equally portrayed in the sordid vulgarities of the rich and the very poor. We are behind the scenes. At times it was fun reading, and at other times, the book plodded along. And of course, the clever title refers to Puck’s line in the very play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

If you enjoy reading about Elizabethan theatre and the Tudor period mixed with intrigue, I highly recommend this historical novel.

This work of fiction introduces us to Elizabethan England's involvement with the professional theatre and Shakespeare's ascension. It revolves around Richard Shakespeare, William's brother, and his role in the players, the intrigue that he encounters, both treacherous and romantic.
It is well-written, engaging and fun – a romp in the Sharpe style. I am sure that Cornwell's fans will enjoy this as much as any other of his novels (although this is my first!)
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book even though it took me a little while to get to it. Once I started I couldn't stop.
I've loved Bernard Cornwall's writing ever since my mother introduced me to his Sharpe series when I was a teenager. This book definitely keeps up with that tradition.
This story grabbed me from the initial blurb and once I began this tale told from Richard's point of view about the life of player's during Elizabethan times. Richard is William Shakespeare's brother who works with him and acts in his plays. This tale mostly explores the play A Midsummer Night's Dream and events surrounding it's performance.
I loved the detail of the Player's lives and the way they act and perform. I felt immersed in the times and places that Richard moved around and how they interacted with important personages such as Queen Elizabeth I. Also it gives insight into the importance of having a wealthy patron and being a Protestant in a time when any signs of Papism were severely punished.
Cornwall's writing is just so evocative and easily enables you to see the surroundings of the characters and while Will Shakespeare isn't the main character of this tale you are aware at all times of him loomimg in the background or scribbling away ina corner.
There is intrigue and romance as well as family in this story and it just draws you in from the very beginning. A vastly enjoyable read which i gave 4 stars to. I'm eagerly looking forward to whatever he writes next.

I really enjoyed this novel. It's different than a lot of Bernard Cornwell's novels. I really liked that the story was a lot like the plays that are included in the story line - there is plenty of drama. I enjoyed learning more about the time and about Shakespeare, the writer, through his brother. I understand that Cornwell probably wanted to be true in his descriptions of the times, but it was hard to read some of the parts about Richard's experiences as a youth in London.

A new playhouse is opening in London and the owners are determined to make it a huge success. Actors are easy to get hold of but new plays are the magic that bring in the playgoers. Over at the Theatre, Richard Shakespeare is struggling to survive on the measly wages he receives. He's getting too old to play women's roles and his older brother Will won't promise him roles playing men. He seems like the perfect target for the new playhouse – offer him regular well-paid work and perhaps he'd be willing to steal the two new scripts Will is working on – A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet – and if he won't, maybe another member of Shakespeare's company will...

This is a fairly light-hearted novel set in the world of Shakespeare's London. Cornwell has undoubtedly taken some fictional liberties with the characters of Will and Richard Shakespeare, so it may not be one for purists, but otherwise it feels well researched to me, though I'm certainly no expert. Richard is a likeable character and it's his voice that tells us the tale. Will is not likeable and seems to really resent his younger brother, for reasons that I felt were never made totally clear, though I think we are probably supposed to assume that he feels Richard is trying to cash in on his success. Whatever the reason, the story is as much about these two men learning to respect each other as it is about the actual plot. And in the course of the book, Richard falls in love, so there's a romantic sub-plot too.

The company are rehearsing Will's new comedy which has been commissioned by their patron Lord Hunsdon to be performed as part of his daughter's wedding celebrations. Cornwell gives an interesting and often amusing account of how a play would have been developed back in those days, with parts designed around the talents of the regular cast and due attention paid to flattering patrons while ensuring that no reason could be found to ban it. He shows how the powerful Puritan lobby were against theatre in principle, but that Queen Elizabeth's love of it meant they were frustrated in their desire to have it prohibited. Shakespeare's company were in the privileged position of having the Lord Chamberlain as patron, but they still had to be careful not to cross the line. Cornwell takes us not only behind the scenes in the playhouse but also into the houses of the rich who could afford private performances, and even into the presence of Elizabeth herself. I found the details of how the plays were staged fascinating, from the creation of costumes to the need for regular intervals to trim the wicks of the candles that were used to provide lighting.

Cornwell also goes into detail on the story of A Midsummer's Night Dream. This is quite fun at first. It's a play I've never liked or revisited since being forced to study it while way too young to properly appreciate either the language or the comedy, so I was surprised when Cornwell sparked in me a desire to give it another try. However, unfortunately, after a while the detail becomes too much and somewhat repetitive, and it begins to feel more like a tutorial on the subject than a novel. It also slows the thing down too much – the fairly lengthy book is well over halfway before the main plot of the baddies' attempt to steal Will's plays really kicks off. Once it does though, it becomes a fine action romp. There is some violence but on the whole it remains light in tone – not nearly as graphic and gory as the only other Cornwell I've read, his Viking-world The Last Kingdom.

We also get to see the religious persecution of the time – at this period, of the Catholics by the Protestants – but again Cornwell keeps it light though hinting at the darker aspects of it off-stage, so to speak. And the ever present threat of plague is there too – a threat not just to life but to the actors' livelihoods too, since any upsurge in the plague would lead to a closure of the theatres to prevent its further spread. Cornwell lets us glimpse the crueller aspects of Elizabethan entertainment too – bear-baiting, etc. All of this together adds up to what feels like a realistic picture of life in London at that period. Cornwell opts not to attempt some kind of faux Tudor language – Richard talks in standard English but has what felt to me like reasonably authentic 16th century attitudes for the most part.

After a fairly slow start, then, I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining venture into Shakespeare's world. I don't know whether this is a one-off or the start of a new series from the prolific Cornwell, but I'd certainly be happy to read another. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins.

I am a great fan of Bernard Cornwell and have read most of his books. But I had to give up on this one after about 75 pages. The story was going nowhere with not much happening but a lot of talk and whining from William Shakespeare's brother Richard about how little money he has and how he can never get a part playing a male character. It just wasn't worth the effort to continue reading; I was totally bored, and I have never felt this way about a Cornwell novel before.

I've read a heckuva lot of Bernard Cornwell books and am so pleased with this jewel. Having chosen the life of a player I relate closely with this cast of characters. I read online that William Shakespeare had an actor brother, but it wasn't Richard. Who cares. This is a historic novel that plays with the facts in order to entertain and does so wonderfully. I didn't need to read about crushed pearls three times, but that's a small quibble.

It isn’t a bad book. Frankly, probably 4 stars and not 3, if it weren’t for expectations. It is well written and interesting for what it is. However, it isn’t typical Cornwell. Those wanting action will be sorely disappointed. Setting aside expectation and the departure from the typical Cornwell formula, it is a bit confusing and certainly on the slower side. Perhaps worth a read if you are a fan of theater and the time period, but I suspect it not find favor among the broadest swath of Cornwell’s audience.

Not your typical Bernard Cornwell. I always knew he could tell a good story, but now I discover he writes well too! If you like Bernard Cornwell, and you like Shakespeare, you will love this. Very clever romp thru late Elizabethan London. Good pick for the Shakespeare in Love crowd!

Mr Cornwell, since you publish on new Novel a year, it would be great if you would have them published in December rather than January so we can put your new novels on our Holiday gift wish lists.

I have been quite impressed by Bernard Cornwell's previous Saxon, Sharpe, and Civil War books, but not so impressed by the one book that I had tried to read that had nothing to do with warfare. Fools and Mortals comes as a very pleasant surprise. The characters are three-dimensional, the plot is mesmerizing, and the history is fascinating. I agree with the previous reviewer that the novel starts somewhat slowly, but I was hooked by page thirty or so.

I found this to be a fun story and quickly went through it in two sittings. Like many others I came across this because of the author. If you are expecting anything akin to his Saxon Tales novels you may be disappointed as some reviewers mention. My recommendation is forget who wrote it and enjoy it for what it is, a quick enjoyable read involving Shakespeare and a fictional tale of adventure as told by his brother around the staging of one of his plays. The story and the characters drew me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book although it took the first two or three chapters to ignite my desire to finish it. As most Cornwell novels they could sure be longer, but that is one of Bernard's hallmarks. He leaves us wanting more which is why he is who he is. So much fun. He could write another novel to make another series, but I hope if he does he writes a sequel to Gallows Thief as well.

Boring to say the least. And I normally enjoy BC's books which are not part of series. The summary on the inside cover is misleading. The story is slow, hard to follow. I was disappointed, could barely make it through the book.

I was looking for an historical novel of some length which deviated from the action or military genre. Although this did have action, I was more delighted with the informative aspect of this unique aspect of history, the rise of the theater in London. Well done as always and bravo for tacking something new.

I did not find this book to be good nor did I find it to be bad. It was just sort of middle- of-the-road. I couldn't really find a plot in it. It just seemed to go on and on about Elizabethan Theatre stuff. I could have read a textbook and gotten as much information. I just got tired of it about halfway through and just quit.

William Shakespeare is back on center stage with the new TV show, "Will", about his early life in London. This book is about his younger brother, Richard, who is a struggling actor in his brother's acting troupe. Richard is young, better looking that Will and a pain in his older brother's side. Struggling on his meager actor's pay, he takes to petty thieving to help support himself.

Richard plays the women's roles but desperately wants to graduate to male roles and even grow a beard. Unfortunately for him there are fewer actors that can play the female roles so his brother somewhat selfishly keeps him in that niche. There is a great deal of animosity on William's side and I am unclear as to why. When Richard first comes to London desperate, Will does not really help him and, in fact, puts him into a very bad situation. This animosity plays a big role in the story.

The story takes place during the time "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is currently under production to be performed at a lavish wedding where the Queen might even be in attendance. Will is burning the midnight oil and writing "Romeo and Juliet" and Richard is doing his very best to get a male role in anything. Will caves in a twist that is laugh out loud funny.

Cornwell's best ability is to put a reader into the middle of the story and his creation of sense of place is outstanding. In his wonderful Saxon series, I feel like I have been in battle behind a shield wall. This shines through in this story too as I felt I was walking the streets in 1595. It's his attention to the smallest detail that brings the place alive. From disposing of human waste to the bear and dog fights, I felt like I was there. I learned so much about the theater world and the attention to details is amazing from how they bled on stage, to the wigs and how they were made and how the plays were even copied.

My only quibble is there is not much of a plot but the journey through the times and the theater's beginning was so worth the time.

Mr. Cornwell has done it again. Entertaining with a clear look into the historical background of our predecessors. Blending the human experience into the factual past, as Mr. Cornwell has done with his many books about Old England, is a great source of excellent reading. I look forward to his next offering with loyal anticipation.

To be immersed in Shakespeare is a novel experience particularly from the players point of view. Elizabethan England rings forth with ribaldry and nobility with the ever present shadow of Puritanism. Yet it is the common man who shines and who struts the stage because the are the players who delivered the words.

This was most definitely the worst Bernard Cornwell book out there. Worse than his King Arthur series. I love his novels. I could read and reread his Uthred novels all day. However, this book was just plain dull. I didn't care about William Shakespeare's frustrated brother. I just wanted him to go away.

I read this since I have read some of the Saxon Tales books that I really enjoyed and I really like historical novels with relation to actually people events. The book started slow and was difficult catching my attention, but when it did I enjoyed it.
One of my biggest complaints isn't with the book itself, but with the notes at the end where Cornwell discusses the characters in the book and their real life characters/history/experiences and there is no mention of Richard Shakespeare there. He is the main character in the book and I needed to search for more information on him (there isn't much).

The premise of this book sounded fascinating; however, the reality is boring and - at times - can be confusing.

I am a fan of Shakespeare and had looked forward to a different view point in this novel. Sadly, one becomes bogged down in the characters and their never ending angst and bickering.

It took me four tries to get through more than seven chapters; at which point, I gave up - something which is a real rarity for me.

I am a GREAT fan of Bernard Cornwell. But this book is terrible. You had better be a Shakespeare scholar and read a Mid Summer's Night Dream before you read this book. Even then you will find it confusing, slow and very boring. Unlike most Cornwell books that you are full of action and have had me reading them late into the night turning the pages; this one I had to really push myself to keep reading. Very disappointing.

A very different novel from Cornwell. Writing in the first person as William Shakespeare's younger brother, Richard, Cornwell images the drama and intrigue surrounding the writing and first production of "Midsummer's Night Dream". Fun read for anyone who loves this play.

An entertaining and clever writing, worthy of those who love the Theatre; and especially fascinating as a look into old London and the society of Shakespeare’s time, and that of those that initially honed the skills of acting in the face of so many barriers and trials.

Elizabethan England is one of my favorite historical periods, and I'm a Shakespeare fan, so I enjoyed the backstage details and the political machinations and managed to suspend all disbelief and lose myself in the tale.

I have read most of Cornwell's books. they are great. If you are a B. Cornwell fan, please don't purchase this nonsense. Hard to even believe Mr. Cornwell wrote it. There are many 5 star ratings here, which is now solid proof to me that these rating systems are rigged. No Cornwell fan would like this book. Indeed, no book reader would give this more than 3 stars, even if the loved Shakesphere. I am guessing the high ratings are bought and paid for by the publisher, as that is common practice nowadays. Unfortunate.

This story of William Shakespeare's younger brother is nothing like other stories told by Cornwell. But the lack of gruesome battle scenes is not a detriment. Cornwall weaves a worthy tale of Elizabethan England. I hope he writes more of Richard Shakespeare and his companions.

This is the fifty-fourth book published by prolific and proficient historical novelist Bernard Cornwell. He is probably best known for his twenty-one novels tracing the career of the fictitious British soldier Richard Starbuck who starts service in India and ends it in the Napoleonic Wars. Sean Benn played Starbuck in the televised series and both book series and televised series were good. There are two points worth knowing about any Cornwell book. (1) He does not play loose and easy with history so the book will be well researched and presented in a way that makes it easy to follow what happens in that time and place. (2) He is a superb story teller. He knows when to plunge into detail and when to pull back from it and let action and emotion carry the load. Nowhere does he do that better than in this current book, which is set in Elizabeth’s England and whose narrator is Richard Shakespeare, who is employed as an aspiring actor in his older brother Will’s theater company. Not all of the dramas presented by Will’s company are of Shakespearean quality. They need to put at least thirty plays a year to keep an audience in the seats of their 1500-seat theater. Empty seats don’t pay the bills so as a result, they present dogs like this one. Listen to these lines: “The fretting heads of furious foes have skill as well by fraud and fore to find their prey. In smiling looks doth lurk a lot as ill as where both stern and sturdy streams do away!” That’s from Hester and Ahasuerus, playwright unknown, a potboiler in which Richard, plays Uashti, Queen of Persia. Even worse is Fair Em, the Miller’s Daughter, a play the company only puts on when no other better exists to fill the gap.

Richard’s relationship with his older brother is fraught with tension, complicated even more by Richard’s frustration with being denied the chance to play a man in a play. (But he plays a really good woman, even though he’s pushing it age wise.) His chance comes when the company is commissioned to do a wedding play for the wedding of the daughter of the queen’s cousin, Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon. The play will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the Bard’s most magical and human concoctions, and yes! Richard will play a man in it, but there’s a hitch. In and around the preparations for this great even, the plot goes on –fights, bruises and blood, a threat of death, an unexpected romance, giant egos (especially in Shakespeare’s chief comic actor, Will Kemp), just lots of things happening, all gloriously, humanly, and often comically portrayed. Oh! And what else is Will Shakespeare working on at that time? A little romance about lovers from two families in heavy conflict in a little Italian city. And Richard wants in on that play too.

Boy, I loved this book! What is it about Shakespeare? Is his work so magical it provokes the best in other writers writing about him? All I know is that this is the third book on his life I’ve come across in recent times, and all three were first rate.

This is the fifty-fourth book published by prolific and proficient historical novelist Bernard Cornwell. He is probably best known for his twenty-one novels tracing the career of the fictitious British soldier Richard Starbuck who starts service in India and ends it in the Napoleonic Wars. Sean Benn played Starbuck in the televised series and both book series and televised series were good. There are two points worth knowing about any Cornwell book. (1) He does not play loose and easy with history so the book will be well researched and presented in a way that makes it easy to follow what happens in that time and place. (2) He is a superb story teller. He knows when to plunge into detail and when to pull back from it and let action and emotion carry the load. Nowhere does he do that better than in this current book, which is set in Elizabeth’s England and whose narrator is Richard Shakespeare, who is employed as an aspiring actor in his older brother Will’s theater company. Not all of the dramas presented by Will’s company are of Shakespearean quality. They need to put at least thirty plays a year to keep an audience in the seats of their 1500-seat theater. Empty seats don’t pay the bills so as a result, they present dogs like this one. Listen to these lines: “The fretting heads of furious foes have skill as well by fraud and fore to find their prey. In smiling looks doth lurk a lot as ill as where both stern and sturdy streams do away!” That’s from Hester and Ahasuerus, playwright unknown, a potboiler in which Richard, plays Uashti, Queen of Persia. Even worse is Fair Em, the Miller’s Daughter, a play the company only puts on when no other better exists to fill the gap.

Richard’s relationship with his older brother is fraught with tension, complicated even more by Richard’s frustration with being denied the chance to play a man in a play. (But he plays a really good woman, even though he’s pushing it age wise.) His chance comes when the company is commissioned to do a wedding play for the wedding of the daughter of the queen’s cousin, Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon. The play will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the Bard’s most magical and human concoctions, and yes! Richard will play a man in it, but there’s a hitch. In and around the preparations for this great even, the plot goes on –fights, bruises and blood, a threat of death, an unexpected romance, giant egos (especially in Shakespeare’s chief comic actor, Will Kemp), just lots of things happening, all gloriously, humanly, and often comically portrayed. Oh! And what else is Will Shakespeare working on at that time? A little romance about lovers from two families in heavy conflict in a little Italian city. And Richard wants in on that play too.

Boy, I loved this book! What is it about Shakespeare? Is his work so magical it provokes the best in other writers writing about him? All I know is that this is the third book on his life I’ve come across in recent times, and all three were first rate.