William Shakespeare, England’s greatest playwright, born thirteen years after Alice’s execution. Why does his first-ever play, written about this murder, not bear his name?
This is a story of two people – one reviled, one revered – whose fates become linked in a tale of corruption, collusion and conspiracy. Based on historical documents and recently published academic research, Arden unveils shocking new evidence about the murder of Thomas Arden and reveals, for the first time, a remarkable new theory about Shakespeare’s early years.
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The premise of this historical fiction tome was the lure for me - the delivery left me a little undecided with regards as to how I felt about the narrative as a whole - but persevere I did.
This tale of murder is told in the first person by both of our primary characters - William Shakespeare and Alice Arden - their stories separated in time by some fifty years with Alice's story taking place from the early 1530s and Shakespeare's from the 1580s.
We already know (or should do if we have picked up this tome) that Alice's rise and falls end with her being burnt at the stake for her involvement in her husband's murder. This was the fate for wives at the time as it was considered treason for a wife to kill her husband. Wifely insubordination must be neutralised and contained; scrutiny and proper regulation of the household was vital to the preservation of domestic order. Tudor society too was dominated by what Alice herself refer's to as "narrow-prying neighbours" where the public and private activities of individuals was open to observation and interference by the greater community.
We also know that this crime is the focal point for exploring the possibility the Shakespeare himself wrote as his first-ever play, based on the fate of Alice, with whom he may have been related to through his own mother. The play existed - it was written and presented and the reader can find a copy for themselves online (see links below). Harper posits that quite possibly this theme such that the Bard was unable to ascribe his name to it - it was that much of a career-ending political hot-potato.
For me, the journey from beginning to end was itself a little arduous and didn't really pick up until Alice's lover re-appears in her life. Harper does a decent job of exploring through the Shakespeare narrative, of whether Alice was a naive tool of her lover Mosby or a willing participant, who used her husband's own greed to get what she wanted.
I found the author's note at the end the most informative, and if crimes set in Tudor England are of interest, then definitely pick up this historical fiction tome.
Further reading:
The English Broadside Ballad Archive - the Complaint & Lamentation of Mistress Arden
The Newgate Calendar - Alice Arden of Feversham
Chambers' Book of Days - Entry for November 23rd
Project Gutenberg - Arden of Feversham
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