I Was Cleopatra

Gr 7–10—When John Rice, young son of a Reading glover, is apprenticed to The King's Men, a company of actors under royal patronage whose playwright-in-residence is William Shakespeare, he begins a new life, playing female parts in the all-male theatre of Elizabethan England. Complimented on his acting skills by the Bard himself, he thrives under the tutelage of Alexander, another young actor with whom John also has a physical relationship. Eventually he becomes a shareholder in the company, now playing male roles; however, after his wife dies in childbirth, he dedicates himself to the Church, putting his artistic life behind him. Abrams writes in a clear, concise manner, and his story is filled with historical details, but it reads more like a history of Elizabethan theater and less like a novel. There is much description and frequent passages quoted from Shakespeare's plays, but little dialogue or dramatic tension, and the writing is too dry to provoke much interest in YA readers.