Shakespeare’s Conspirator (The Woman, The Writer, The Clues) Historical Fiction by Steve Weitzenkorn shatters beliefs about the world's greatest playwright. Book Tour with Guest Post & Giveaway
Did a shunned Jewish woman of color write many of Shakespeare’s plays?
A young woman seals a secret pact with Shakespeare bringing her plays into the world but the acclaim to him, yet she embeds subtle clues pointing to her authorship and imperiling her life.
Shakespeare’s Conspirator
The Woman, The Writer, The Clues
by Steve Weitzenkorn
Genre: Historical Fiction
Brimming with intrigue, SHAKESPEARE'S CONSPIRATOR shatters beliefs about the world's greatest playwright. Did he really write the thirty-seven plays credited to him?
It's 1587. Shakespeare is struggling to launch his career. Finally he persuades James Burbage, a theater owner, to stage Henry VI. He's the same proprietor who refused to look at Amelia Bassano's comedic script. Infuriated after being blocked at every turn, she reluctantly seals a secret pact with Shakespeare.
So begins a fiery relationship that triggers suspicions, plots to expose them, and grave dangers.Craving recognition and ways to break through, Amelia pursues illicit relationships with Elizabethan luminaries while becoming a controversial advocate for women.
Scandals and complications follow as her life takes dreadful turns. When Shakespeare pressures her to write a soul-tormenting script, she fears being exposed as a hidden Jew, a felony in Elizabethan England. Undeterred, she embeds hints to her authorship and true identity in Shakespeare's plays. But not everyone is deceived.
In this captivating story, the web of secrets and trail of clues reveals a perilous and cloaked Shakespearean world.
REVIEWERS HAVE CALLED SHAKESPEARE’S CONSPIRATOR:
“A STUNNING ACHIEVEMENT.”
“A MUST READ ON THE TRUE AUTHORSHIP OF SOME OF SHAKESPEARE’S GREATEST WORK.”
“AN HISTORICAL WHO-WROTE-IT,” “ENTHRALLING,” “LOVINGLY RESEARCHED.“
“A TRIBUTE TO A STRONG AND CREATIVE JEWISH WOMAN.”
SHAKESPEARE’S CONSPIRATOR
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 9
Will settled back down and nodded his goblet toward
her. “How is your play about the two sets of twins?”
Emilia believed he already knew the answer. She
cleared her throat. “Using your phrase, I’m calling it A Comedy of Errors, but…” Her lips turned downward as she
continued. “I’ve gone to every theater owner, but none will look at it.”
Tears welled in Emilia’s eyes, and she dabbed them
with a linen handkerchief.
“Do they say why?” asked Will.
“Some do, some don’t. One claimed a play by a woman
wouldn’t attract audiences, which is curious since there’s never been one. But
there’s also an unstated reason.”
“Which is?”
Emilia stared through the rain-streaked window and
gathered her courage to admit the truth. “I’m not well thought of among theater
people. I shan’t go into details but my reputation has been sullied.”
“I won’t inquire, but I’ve heard rumors…about another
playwright.”
Emilia swallowed hard, relieved he didn’t mention
names. She didn’t wish to talk about Marlowe. An awkward silence filled the space
between them. Yet she could tell Will’s mind was working furiously.
“What are you thinking?”
He coughed, making a dismissive wave. “It’s nothing.”
“Will, say it. You can be blunt.”
“I’m searching for the right words so I don’t offend
you.”
Emilia took another sip of ale. “I’ll be more offended
if you don’t tell me.”
Will still hesitated and spoke as if he chose his
words carefully. “There are certain barriers that aren’t coming down. That means
if you want your play performed, you’ll need to make a reluctant choice.”
“Will, what are you saying?”
Will shifted in his chair, grimacing as if struggling
to broach his idea with her. “Emilia, I’ll be plain. I doubt men’s attitudes
toward women will change. They’re deeply implanted. So—and this was the mad
thought that occurred to me—why not use a man’s name as the author? Then your script
would receive due consideration.”
Emilia recoiled at the artifice. “You’re suggesting I use
a male alias like Emil Bassano
or some other contrived appellation?”
“It could work.”
“It might, but if every woman did, we’d never be
recognized for notable work. Our genders should not matter.”
Will shrunk back in his seat, looking pained. “Everything
you say is true, bringing me to the point I wished to make earlier, which would
solve those practical problems but create other risks.”
Emilia planted her elbows on the table. “And that is?”
“To get Burbage’s true reaction, what if, with your
assent, I showed him your script without any name on it? If he responds favorably,
then we’ll discuss our next moves.”
Emilia saw the value of that approach. “That’s an intriguing
idea. But if he likes it, then what?”
“It will depend on his reaction,” said Will.
Emilia fidgeted with uncertainty, reluctant to lose
control over her work. “I have little to lose, I suppose.”
“Emilia, it’s worth trying. Can you bring the script
here tomorrow?”
Emilia paused, assessing Will. She believed him to be
sincere and fair-minded. He wasn’t sinister like Marlowe, who would have a
concealed motive. I’ll trust him and see.
Only then will I know. “I’ll bring it, but I’ll need it back.”
***
Emilia
paced the streets near the Horn waiting for Will. Her leather chopines had rubbed
her ankles sore. The two-inch wooden soles and heels were caked with crud from stepping
off curbs into sloppy, potholed roads. Horses and carriages splattered mud on
her black skirt. But Emilia thought only about Will’s meeting with Burbage,
paying little attention to where she walked. She passed the Horn again and saw Will
approaching from the opposite direction, looking downcast.
“Burbage wants A Comedy of Errors,” he
announced matter-of-factly.
Something’s wrong, Emilia sensed. Why isn’t he pleased?
“Let’s talk inside,” suggested Will.
They found a window table that two laborers had vacated.
Will ordered ale for them both.
“Will, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“Burbage likes the novel theme and plot. He thinks it will
draw sizeable audiences...”
Will’s tone is flat, devoid of
emotion. Something’s not right. “Does he know who penned it?”
Will hung his head and put his fist to his mouth.
“What is it, Will?”
“Burbage assumed I wrote it. He said I should be
confident enough to say so.”
Oh no! Is Will stealing my work? “What did you say?”
“I didn’t correct him.”
Emilia jumped to her feet, folding her arms across her
chest. I didn’t expect treachery! “I
trusted you! You didn’t tell the truth?”
England,
1587: A young William Shakespeare persuades a theater owner to stage Henry VI––the
same one that refuses to look at Emilia Bassano's play because she’s a women.
Blocked at every turn, she reluctantly agrees to let Shakespeare submit her
scripts under his name, but at what cost?
Emilia’s plays propel Shakespeare’s
success, which sparks envy and suspicion from a fledgling playwright after he
detects clues embedded in the scripts that point to her authorship. She faces
threats and grave dangers as a biracial, half-Jewish woman believed to be
abetting Shakespeare’s deception. In contrast to the belittlement and
injustices women face, she portrays their strengths, intelligence, and savvy
through her characters, storylines, and poetry.
Emilia
Bassano Lanyer is most accomplished writer you’ve never heard
of. Until now.
The Mysterious Curse of King Tut’s Tomb
Steve
Weitzenkorn
My paternal grandmother,
Lily Winner, was the first woman to enter King Tut’s tomb on March 21, 1924.
She was 29 years old and the only woman in the first group of international
reporters to see it. So, when I read about the curse that plagued the twenty
people who discovered and opened King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, I was
immediately intrigued. Lily died at a relatively young age, twenty years before
I was born.
What was the curse?
Ancient Egyptian scribes wrote that anyone who disturbed mummified remains
would die of a disease that doctors could not diagnose. It was called the
“Pharaoh’s Curse.” And lo and behold:
·
Howard Carter, the
British Egyptologist and archaeologist who discovered King Tut’s tomb in the
Valley of the Kings, died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a disease not well understood
until the 1960s, thirty years after his death.
·
George Edward Stanhope
Molyneux Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon, also a British Egyptologist, died three
weeks after the tomb's official opening of a high fever initially thought to be
from blood poisoning. But it’s just as likely that he died of pneumonia and
heart and respiratory issues. No one knows for sure.
·
Arthur Weigall, Jr. was
the son of British Egyptologist Arthur Weigall. He died in 1923 shortly after
entering King Tut’s tomb, possibly from malaria but also possibly from
something else. The diagnosis was inconclusive.
·
Seventeen others among
the group that excavated and spent time inside King Tut’s burial chambers
reportedly died of diabetes, heart failure, pneumonia, poisoning, malaria,
asphyxia, and strokes.
·
Lily Winner died when
she was forty-four, probably from ovarian or uterine cancer.
Did the “Pharaoh’s
Curse” cause these deaths? Or was it something else?
With advances in medical
knowledge, a new theory has emerged suggesting that many of the deaths were
caused by exposure to “unnatural sources of radiation” inside the burial
chamber. It may have come from radon gas which has been detected inside the
King Tut’s and other ancient Egyptian tombs. Radiation sickness was not usually
suspected back in the 1920s. But we now know that elevated rates and exposure
to radiation can cause various cancers, heart disease, and other illness which
often lead to death—sometimes quickly and sometimes over the course of years.
Proving cause and effect
in deaths that occurred eighty-four to one hundred years ago is not easy, even
if the common denominator is that each person spent time inside King Tut’s tomb
within two years of it being opened. The human body is complicated, yet this
may be more than a coincidence. But a curse? I’ll leave it for you to decide.
I write historical fiction that challenges assumptions and provides fresh insights into the events of prior centuries, legendary figures, and people overlooked in the sweep of time. My first novel, Shakespeare’s Conspirator, has been optioned by a celebrity-owned production company in LA. It imagines the life of Emilia Bassano Lanyer, a real woman who may have written several plays attributed to Shakespeare. I’ve also written a prequel and sequel that delves in to the Shakespeare authorship mystery. With any luck, all may be coming to a screen near you.
My writing journey began as I was winding down my career as an organizational behavior consultant and co-authored a book on teamwork and leadership. As an avid reader, I became intrigued by curious fact patterns inconsistent with commonly-held beliefs, that I, like many others, assumed were true. When I realized the logic of those assumptions did not always hold up to close scrutiny, and experts had dug trenches around their own theories, I launched into my own research. Fascinating stories emerged and my imagination took over.
Since most people don’t read academic material, I reasoned that a compelling way to convey the evidence and challenge beliefs was to depict real and fictional characters dropping the bread crumbs, or following them, in reality-based historical fiction. In my novels, characters uncover and discuss clues through intriguing plots that track with historical chronologies—allowing readers to form their own conclusions.
My most recent published novel delves into the Spanish Inquisition, the trauma it created, and the life-changing decisions it triggered. Two other historical novels are in the pipeline. In one, the protagonist discovers her family’s hidden past while alternate chapters track her ancestor’s journey over hundreds of years.
I have also co-authored two non-fiction books: The Catalyst Effect: 12 Skills to Boost Your Impact and Elevate Team Performance and Find-Fulfill-Flourish about discovering one’s purpose.
I have a dry sense of humor along with a Ph.D. in Human Learning and Organizational Behavior. I’ve been honored with the William C. Byham Award for Innovation and Excellence in Training Technology and the Henkel Award for Global HR Excellence. I have served on the boards of nonprofit organizations and as president of two. I enjoy mentoring, teaching, presenting, volunteering, and learning in any way possible.
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This looks like a great novel. Thanks for sharing.
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