The Assassin of Verona by Benet Brandreth, Book Review

We know so little of the life of William Shakespeare. Some have even questioned his very existence. Where did he get his ideas from for say, The Merchant of Venice or The Two Gentlemen of Verona or even Romeo and Juliet? As far as we know, Shakespeare never left the country. But what if he had?

What if a young William had travelled to Italy in the company of two fellow Englishmen as a sort of assistant spy? What if he had stayed in Venice and Verona, associated with locals, perhaps even fallen in love with a local beauty, while gathering intelligence for his queen? What if he had to survive vicious attacks, escape plots on his life and evade the spies of a Pope determined to destroy the English heretic queen? Now, that would be an exciting read, wouldn’t it?

Benet Brandreth did just that in his first two William Shakespeare thrillers. The Assassin of Verona follows on from The Spy of Venice. A young William Shakespeare (the year is 1585) is disguised as the steward of the English Ambassador. Having come into the possession of a list of the Pope’s secret agents in England, he and his two fellow spies now have to get that list back to England. Easier said than done. Expect intrigue, danger, violence and love. And then some. 

If you love historical fiction then you will truly enjoy this adventurous romp through late Renaissance Italy. Brandreth writes in a style suitable to capturing the fictitious life of a William Shakespeare. And from someone who is an authority on Shakespeare and who has worked with the Shakespeare Company as a language coach, I wouldn’t expect anything less. 

Published in hardback in 2017 by Zaffre.