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Alexa Schnee

Author of Shakespeare's Lady

1 Work 14 Members 3 Reviews

Works by Alexa Schnee

Shakespeare's Lady (2012) 14 copies

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Emilia’s life is not always an easy one. She is first a mistress to Henry Carey and then married off after she becomes pregnant to an abusive man. This story is based on factual happenings. Emilia falls in love with William Shakespeare who works with her husband. I found the ending was the best part. I won’t give it away, but we find that her true husband shows his love for her through a selfless act.

I did not realize that this was published by Guideposts a Christian publisher. It seems a little out of character for a Christian novel. There is nothing really bad in the book, but nothing really religious either. The affairs and adultery make for a strange match with the publisher?

I absolutely loved this book. It revolves around the Tudor court with the familiar characters, but with a new spin. I can’t believe that the writer was only 18!!! Very well done!! Well written and well researched. This young girl writes like an experienced and accomplished writer!! I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
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Pattymclpn | 2 other reviews | Nov 12, 2014 |
Loved, loved, loved this book on so many levels. I kept thinking about how deep and emotional -- not to mention edgy -- this book was for an inspirational book. The author's voice was superb and very distinct. I appreciated how the novel was written in the first person point of view because it gave me a deeper connection to the heroine. I was in awe of how the author kept my mind engaged in that time period and how she had me worried about many of the characters. You could sense how trapped the heroine felt and how obligated she was to serve the queen and be the best she could, but how that also meant she had to do whatever the queen desired of her no matter how painful or offensive that might be. I cannot imagine having to be a mistress to an old man. I pitied her situation.

I think what I loved best about this story, though, was how true to the era and the times that the author was in regards to her storytelling. She didn't try to sanitize the emotion and the conflict to make it a gentler book. Her characterization was powerful because it felt realistic and Emilia's thoughts and actions seemed genuine. The heroine was so conflicted about her life and what she was doing, yet she yearned for more, then lost it all in the end anyway. This was a powerful tale of love longed for, found, then lost. I truly understood the character's conflict because her character was so well written that you could feel her humanity and her pain.

I also found a lot of the wording quite poetic and lyrical in style. In fact, I found myself reading a number of phrases out loud to a friend because they evoked such imagery and emotion. The descriptions and foreshadowing were well done, too. I am a huge fan of the Elizabethan period in English history and because of that, this book was a real treat for me. I appreciated the author's artistic license in giving a name and a face to the character who may have inspired Shakespeare's emotionally evocative and dark sonnets. The author posted a number of them at the end of the book and I could see after reading the sonnets how the author might conclude that Emilia Bassano could have been his inspiration.

I never read a book twice, but this is one book that would inspire me to do so. It was beautifully written and a solid story. Because of the first person point of view, I was in the head of Emilia for the entire story and I lived in her shoes. What was so incredible to me was how well the author described so many things that a married woman might experience despite the author's young age. I can't remember a time when I enjoyed a historical novel written in first person point of view more. I wish more Christian publishers would publish this type of realistic fiction. I highly recommend Shakespeare's Lady, and because it was so well-written it's making my favorites list for 2012.
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MichelleSutton | 2 other reviews | Apr 19, 2012 |
For centuries, readers have debated the identity of the mysterious Dark Lady in William Shakespeare's sonnets. Emilia Bassano - lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth and one of the first women poets in England could be the answer.

In Shakespeare's Lady by Alexa Schnee, Emilia is one of the most dazzling ladies at court when she meets the little-known playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare sees the world like no one ever has before, and despite all odds, they fall in love. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and these star-crossed lovers must fight for their love - and eventually their lives. Shakespeare's Lady explores grace, forgiveness, and the forbidden love between the greatest poet the world has ever known and the woman who may have inspired him.

I received Shakespeare's Lady compliments of Summerside Press/Guideposts for my honest review and found myself whisked back to the 16th century and residing in Greenwich Court through the enchanting words of debut author Alexa Schnee. Always knowing that women back in that time period were treated as little more than property to be shared while looking for heirs to the throne, I find it interesting how Schnee gets Shakespeare involved in her story.

While Emilia is struggling to find her way through a series of encounters with men in the Queen's court. She can't help but have such a love for writing and creating stories which she pens alone in her room and keeps hidden beneath her covers. Her relationship with Henry Carey, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, finds her appearance to be just like that of his mother, Anne Boylin. Now she finds herself a mistress to a man forty-five years her senior and wanting desperately to be free of the relationship, however since the Queen has approved it, her only way out will be if Henry dies or if she could conceive a child. This makes for an interesting tangled storyline and one that the reader will connect with through Emilia's eyes.

I rate this novel a 4.5 out of 5 stars for the authenticity the author creates through her debut writing and enchanting to see how romance plays out in the heart of her characters she has so eloquently created. This book does show how life was like in the Elizabethan time period and it was condone for men to have mistresses. That being said, the book does not go into great detail about the act of adultery with Henry Carey and other men, but is simply stated it occurred. I applaud the author for keeping the book more about the storyline and skipping details that didn't need to be elaborated on which is why I rated the book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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½
 
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ReviewsFromTheHeart | 2 other reviews | Feb 18, 2012 |

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Works
1
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Rating
½ 4.6
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3
ISBNs
4