In a quiet manor house in Oxfordshire, an ailing housekeeper by the name of Aerlene Ward feels the time has come to confess the great secret that has shaped her life-she is the illegitimate daughter of William Shakespeare, England's most famous playwright.

With a brilliant eye and ear for this rich period of history, Richard B. Wright brings to life the teeming streets of Elizabethan London and the seasonal rhythms of rural life in Oliver Cromwell's England as he interweaves the intriguing stories of the lovely Elizabeth, who allows herself to be seduced by a struggling young writer from Stratford, and her plain but clever daughter, who must live with the consequences.

As their lives unfold, secrets are revealed, love is found and lost, and futures are forever changed. Readers will be fascinated by glimpses of the young Will as an actor with the Queen's Men and, fifteen years later, as a world-weary but increasingly wealthy playwright -- who may have had an unexpected daughter.

An engaging blend of invention and historical detail, and echoing the unmistakable style of the Bard himself, MR. SHAKESPEARE'S BASTARD confirms Wright as one of our finest storytellers. This unforgettable novel will delight the senses and touch the heart.

The author of nine novels, Richard Wright has been published in Canada, the United States, and the U.K. His novel, The Middle of Life, won the city of Toronto Book Award and the Faber Award, and his novel, The Age Of Longing was nominated for the Governor General's Award and the Giller Prize. He lives, writes, and teaches in St. Catherines, Ontario.

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