Writerly Life

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult is a pretty fascinating read that incorporates history along with a love of literature and play writing.

In present time, Melina is an aspiring play writer who has discovered that her long ago relative was a writer during Shakespearean times. Melina uses her research to create a play about her relative. There is much more to Melina’s story which begins to parallel certain elements of her ancestor’s experiences.

Her relative, Emilia Bassano, is an actual person. She was one of the first published female poets of her time. However, she may have also been one of Shakespeare’s primary writers. In fact, according to this book, he may not have written any of his famous works.

Emilia’s story was my favorite part of the book. She experiences many highs and lows in her lifetime.

I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely well written and full of great story elements: drama, tragedy and love.