Booking It: The Stratford Man

It takes a certain kind of daring to make the main characters of your novel two of the most gifted writers in history: William Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe (more commonly known to us as Christopher Marlowe). Yet author Elizabeth Bear succeeds in this regard.

Like Shakespeare’s plays, The Stratford Man series is divided into five acts, with Ink and Steel holding the first three and Hell and Earth containing the latter two. Though splitting up the story disrupts the rhythm, many would consider the cumulative 900 pages to be too long for a single novel, so I understand the publishing decision.

Set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the books open with the murder of Kit, a member of the Prometheus Club who provides services for the queen. Soon after, his roommate, Will Shakespeare, is deemed worthy of being Kit’s successor, for he writes plays that contain enough magic to keep England’s enemies at bay. Meanwhile, Kit finds himself in the land of Fay, where he has been saved as a favor to Queen Elizabeth. Knighted by Morgana Le Fay, he drinks water that prevents him from returning to the mortal world for long periods of time and must transfer his loyalty for Queen Elizabeth to Queen Mebd. Yet in a world where “all stories are true,” each Queen represents each other and supporting one strengthens the reign of the other as well.

Each act features quotes from both Shakespeare’s sonnet and Marlowe’s play, creating the illusion that the book holds a true, as-yet-undiscovered history of the era. Bear concocts a wonderful blend of fact and fiction, history and fairy tale and plays and mythologies, allowing the reader to discover the Arthurian legend again. She tries to be as historically accurate as possible, whilst cultivating the characters’ personalities beyond the myths that surround these historical figures.

The focus of both Ink and Steel and Hell and Earth is the relationship between Will Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe. Both are extremely likable characters who we instantly want to succeed, yet the dilemmas they face are truly tragic. The strength of the story lies in the gut-wrenching heartache between Will and Christopher, the hatred, the jealously and the willingness to sacrifice anything to be with the other. It is these emotions that make the ending we all know is coming so difficult to process. In pushing us to rethink everything we thought we knew about not only William Shakespeare but also Christopher Marlowe’s suspicious death, The Stratford Man stands as a truly brilliant historical fantasy series.