NOVEL REVIEW: The Dark Lady's Mask By Mary Sharratt



Eiyo friends,

How are you guys doing? I hope you guys are doing good. I just finished reading a novel titled, The Dark Lady's Mask (DLM). The novel was written by Mary Sharratt. Today, I'm going to share my review of the novel with you guys. We shall begin with the author's profile.


ABOUT MARY SHARRATT

Image: marysharratt.com


Mary Sharratt is an award-winning American novelist who lives in Lancashire, England with her husband. She is a passionate Shakespeare enthusiast and loves doing research on the famous writer. Besides DLM, Sharrat also wrote Summit Avenue, The Real Minerva, The Vanishing Point, and many more.


ABOUT THE DARK LADY'S MASK



DLM tells the story of a woman named Aemilia Bassano Lanier. Aemilia was the first professional lady poet during the Renaissance era in England. In the novel, Sharratt portrays Aemilia as Shakespear's muse and mistress.

At the beginning of the story, Aemilia was portrayed as an 8-year-old girl. She is an illegitimate daughter of Battista Bassano, a musician in Queen Elizabeth I's court (he is also a Venetian Jew refugee from Italy). After Battista died, Aemilia was sent to a school in the English countryside where she studied music, writing, arts, and foreign languages. Aemilia was a bright student at the school. When Aemilia was 16, she met a nobleman named Lord Chamberlain. Lord Chamberlain was very handsome and charming. Aemilia was so smitten by his charm. She later became his young mistress and left the school.

Lord Chamberlain introduced Aemilia to the queen. She became a singer at Queen Elizabeth I's court.  She was a superstar in the queen's court. But things changed after Aemilia got pregnant with Lord Chamberlain's illegitimate son at the age of 23. Aemilia was banished from Queen Elizabeth I's court.

To mitigate the scandal, Lord Chamberlain married Aemilia to Alfonso Lanier- a young French musician and sailor who was only interested in Aemilia's wealth. One year later, Aemilia was not happy with her marriage. Her husband never loved her. Aemilia met William Shakespear (the world's famous poet and writer). She later escaped to Italy with him.

In Italy, Aemilia and Will wrote their plays and comedies. After working together,  Aemilia and Will fell in love. They had an affair and an illegitimate daughter together. But their Italian idyll cannot last, and their collaborative affair comes to a devastating end. Aemilia and Will both returned to England.

Will achieved his success and fame for the plays that he wrote with Aemilia. He also published a sonnet (Sonnet 130) about his former muse. Not one stand in humiliation, Aemilia started writing again. She also published a sonnet about Will.


MY REVIEW

DLM is a novel based on historical events. The novel is base on Shakespear's Sonnet 130. Shakespeare wrote about the woman who was once his mistress and muse in the sonnet. The woman is known as the Dark Lady. Until now, the identity of the Dark Lady is still a mystery. However, DLM is a work of fiction. There's no historical evidence to prove that Aemilia Bassano Lanier was the Dark Lady.

DLM has a very interesting storyline and plot. The author combined literature, history facts, and her imaginations into one work. To me, that is incredible. Reading DLM takes me to the Renaissance era, old England, and Italy. This novel also tells me how Shakespear gets his inspirations to write his stories and poems. It is very interesting. Sharratt's writing gives me a clear picture of how women were treated during the Renaissance era. This novel also has a feminism touch. 

Overall, I rate this novel 8/10. I would recommend this novel to those who love Shakespeare. But I also would like to be honest that this novel has a lot of sexual scenes. So it is not suitable for those who are under 18.



Ok, that's all for now. Has anyone read The Dark Lady's Mask? If yes, what are your opinions about the novel? I'm going on vacation this Friday (11.12.2020). So I'm going to take a one week break from blogging. See you guys after the 18th of December. Take care.


XoXo,

Fadima Mooneira ^_^


#TheDarkLadysMask #MarySharratt #Shakespeare #NovelReview #FadimaMooneiraLibrary #Edutainment #FadimaMooneiraBlogspot



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Comments

  1. You've written a great review. I love historical fiction and it sounds like I would really enjoy this book.

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  2. What an amazing review! Even though this sounds like a great read, I don't think it is one that I would enjoy xx

    Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/

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  3. Great review! I've never read or heard of this one but it sounds really interesting!

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    1. Yes, it is interesting. It is based on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130.

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  4. I'm a massive Shakespeare fan so this sounds very much something I would enjoy - thank you for the recommendation, Fadima, I've not come across this author before.

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  5. I love that it's a fiction inspired by some true events! That sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and have a great vacation!

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  6. Great review Fadima! I love reading historical fiction. I didn't know anything about this book, but I will definitely read it as soon as possible! 🌞 Stay safe!

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    1. Thanx. You stay safe too and happy reading 😘💋

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  7. I quite like Shakespeare and historical fiction, so this is one I'm going to add to my research list. Great review!

    Anika | chaptersofmay.com

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  8. You've written the review very well.. I'm so bad at writing reviews for books


    Cata http://beautyofcafe205.blog/

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    1. But you always share good beauty reviews. Have no worries. Everyone is good at something, and bad at something. I’m not good at writing travel post. I actually want to remove travel section from my blog. But my friends want me to still share some travel post. So I accept the challenge.

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  9. Ooh this sounds such an interesting read. I will need to get myself a copy.

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  10. Enjoy your week-long break. Perhaps you can get an inspiration for another book. :)

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  11. never heard about this novel but yes, from the review I can tell it is very interesting to read..

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    1. Yeah, it is quite interesting. You can learn about Shakespeare from reading this novel.

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  12. It's been so long, since I last read a novel... Great to read this novel review from u...

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  13. Sis baru tau ada juga yaa novel yang ada unsur seks gitu.. bahaya juga ya kalau underage terbaca.. interesting juga i baca review u..

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  14. I've never heard of this book but it sounds interesting thank you for sharing

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  15. banyak betul cabaran watak utama tapi i tak minat buku yg ada banyak sexual scene ni. btw nice review :)

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    1. Yeah, not all people can’t handle it. Hehehe 🙈🙈🙈

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  16. what a great review but im not into this genre..it sounds heavy for me hehe

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  17. Tak pernah lagi tahu pasal judul ni. Tapi jalan cerita agak kompleks juga. Boleh baca time santai..

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  18. buku genre history macam ni sesuai dengan anak saya yang suka membaca nivel english , mungkin boleh suggest pada dia , kalau dia suka boleh cari supaya dan jadikan bahan bacaan di masa lapang....

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    1. Anak Puan umo brape ek? Novel NIe rating dia 18 sx tau.

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  19. I dah lama gila tak baca english novel. Baca novel pun dah lama tak sentuh. Should buy new book soon

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  20. It takes a lot of research to write historical fiction, especially one that is based on true events. Kudos to the author.

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  21. Awesome review! Salute because you can review this book clearly.

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  22. Tak pernah baca lagi novel ni. Dah lama tak baca novel. Jalan cerita macam menarik. Tak tahula nak marah ke nak sedih cerita pasal affair ni

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    1. Hehehe.......you should start reading books again. It's good for your career as a writer/blogger.

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  23. Wahhh i suka kalo baca buku camni tak sedar je masa berlalu hehe..thanks utk review ni

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  24. Great review! I don’t think it would be my kind of thing but it’s still interesting to read your opinion on it.

    Toria | www.contentbytoria.Wordpress.com

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  25. There are a few things that don't really like up with the premise of the story, but the one that bugs me most is this: how does an illegitimate daughter of a musician in Queen Elizabeth I's court have wealth that attracted the husband she was pawned off on to?

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    1. From her singing career and the money she got from Lord Chamberlain

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  26. Oooh this sounds like an amazing book, I'm going to check out this book!

    Love, Amie ❤
    The Curvaceous Vegan

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  27. What an excellent review. This book sounds really interesting. I love that there are some historical elements. I am going to have to check this out!

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  28. Sounds like a very dark and twisty novel! Great review!

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