Will

London, 1588. Plague decimates the city, Spain threatens to sail its gunboats up the Thames, and the heads of the queen's boldest enemies rot on the pikes of London Bridge. But four streets away, in the crowded, raucous Rose Theater, a group of players say what they will. ,And the bravest of them is a quiet youth who kindles the malice of the great but evades all punishment with his angel's tongue. His name is William Shakespeare.

The object of passionate interest and bitter envy, Will is an enigma. His amazing gift for words elevates him from poor player to master playwright, yet also earns him the violent wrath of the famous Christopher Marlowe, a baby—faced poetic genius who brooks no rivals. Though Will's wife: Anne, waits impatiently—and not always chastely—for him in the country town of Stratford, he is a stranger to his family. His home is the London theater, where his conflict with Marlowe and friendship with big, wild Ben Ionson spur them all to make plays so inventive and radical they may set the city on fire. But Anne tries to wake Will from his player's dream into the daylight of his life with her. And not until his world collapses does she learn the terrible price that must be paid to save him.