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Summary
Summary
Scene: A world not of this world but in it-where a transparent palace hangs suspended in mid-air and tiny fairies twinkle here and there...where a traitorous king holds court before elven lords and ladies...and where fantastical tragedies and capricious romances reach out to entangle mortal souls... Enter: William Shakespeare When his wife and newborn daughter disappear, young Will Shakespeare is drawn into a realm beyond imagination -and beyond reality. Held captive by the devious ruler of the elves and fairies, Shakespeare's family appears lost to him forever. But a sprightly elf named Quicksilver takes a fancy to Shakespeare -and sees a chance to set things right. Can a mere schoolteacher win his wife back from a king? Or will Shakespeare fall prey to his own desires -and the whimsical charms of a trickster elf?With magical twists and turns, Ill Met By Moonlight is a brilliant and enchanting debut novel of a woman who sets young Shakespeare's heart ablaze -and a love that arouses the greatness within him….
Author Notes
Sarah de Almeida Hoyt was born in Porto, Portugal. She now lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons and four cats. She holds an MA in English and Literature and has pursued Shakespearean studies as a hobby for over twenty-five years. All Night Awake is her second novel and continues the story of her first, Ill Met By Moonlight . Her short stories have appeared in various magazines, among them Weird Tales and Absolute Magnitude .
Reviews 2
Publisher's Weekly Review
"To be or not to be?" This is a conundrum posed not by the immortal Bard of Avon but, in newcomer Hoyt's quirky novel, by Quicksilver, heir proper to the Elven Realms Above the Air and Beneath the Hills of Avalon. William Shakespeare, who has yet to begin his career as a playwright, suffers a terrible personal blow when Sylvanus, evil king of the Elven realm, kidnaps his new wife, Nan, and their baby, Susannah. The young Shakespeare vows to get them back, but just how he'll go about it he doesn't know. Enter Quicksilver, the elf who was tricked out of his inheritance by his brother, Sylvanus. In the form of the Dark Lady (Shakespeare's supposed muse), Quicksilver allies himself with Shakespeare to bring about the downfall of Sylvanus and return Nan and Susannah to Will. Much treachery, romance and elvish behavior follow. Hoyt's Will Shakespeare makes an engaging main character, and the book generally romps along as a straightforward fantasy. Numerous references to the plays and a number of direct quotations mixed in with the text add to the fun. In her epilogue, the author discusses her sources and makes a plausible case, given the meager evidence, for assuming that the playwright was happily married. This is a literate first novel with the promise of good things to come. (Oct. 9) Forecast: The Pre-Raphaelite blonde on the jacket scarcely fits the image of the Dark Lady, but she does serve to signal that this is a quality item with crossover appeal to Shakespeare fans. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
When young schoolmaster Will Shakespeare discovers that the fair folk under the hill have taken his wife and child to live with them, he seeks a way to recover them and encounters an elfin creature named Quicksilver who claims to know a way for him to do just that. Hoyt's first novel imparts a fanciful and charming interpretation of the origins of Shakespeare's plays as well as tells a tale of love and betrayal. With particular appeal for Elizabethan history buffs and literature lovers, this volume belongs in most fantasy collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.