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Shakespeare's Spy

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Shakespeare's Spy

Paperback(Reprint)

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Paperback(Reprint)
$8.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

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Overview

Things are disappearing mysteriously from Will Shakespeare's acting company, and it looks like an inside job. Everyone's eyes are on Widge, the orphan boy turned actor, and former thief. Widge knows better than anyone that Shakespeare's plays must be protected at all costs. In order to prove his innocence and clear his name, Widge must learn a new role: spy. But can he dig through the suspects and skulduggery and catch the true culprit?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142403112
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/21/2005
Series:	Shakespeare Stealer
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	680,358
Product dimensions:	5.11(w) x 7.71(h) x 0.77(d)
Lexile:	850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since. His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre. Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena. His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN, and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER, are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe. Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He and his wife and kids live outside Carthage, MO.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Intriguing. . . . A fast-paced tale of Elizabethan England that fans of the earlier novels will love. (School Library Journal)

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Editorial Reviews

Intriguing. . . . A fast-paced tale of Elizabethan England that fans of the earlier novels will love. (School Library Journal)

From the Publisher

In the third book in the Shakespeare Stealer series, Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood, the past seems inescapable for young theater apprentice Widge. Having been a suspect in the series' debut book when Widge was sent to steal the script for Hamlet, he again falls under suspicion with a string of thefts involving Mr. Shakespeare's scripts. The only way to clear his name is for Widge to spy on the rival company and find the real thief. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 5-8-In this newest addition to the series, the apprentice Widge becomes a spy to determine who is stealing scripts of Shakespeare's latest play from the Lord Chamberlain's Men. After a loud argument, he pretends that the playwright has dismissed him and attains an acting position with the Admiral's Men. His talent for "swift writing" enables him to crack an encoded note that identifies the culprit. While describing Widge's frenetic activities, Blackwood shows the political and religious instability that prevailed due to Queen Elizabeth's failing health. The monarch is a prime supporter of Shakespeare's dramas, and the company members wonder what their fate will be after her death. Meanwhile, they attempt to rid their plays of any reference to Papists so no one will report them to the already insecure authorities. Widge and his friends love adventure; they venture into treacherous, forbidden streets to seek a mysterious and frightening fortune-teller and they taunt one another to cross the frozen river. Readers will identify with Widge's increasing self-understanding and integrity gained from his experiences. Blackwood's well-integrated plot and intriguing subplots ensure a fast-paced tale of Elizabethan England that fans of the earlier novels will love; the author incorporates historical details from the broad political scene to the minute social scene to give authority and excitement to the story.-Susan Cooley, formerly at Tower Hill School, Wilmington, DE Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Street-waif-turned-actor Widge stumbles into adolescence as he makes a third entrance onto the vividly rendered stage of Elizabethan London's "backstreets and snickleways." As the Queen's failing health brings worries that the Puritans will at last be able to close down all the theaters, Widge acquires both a risky new acquaintance who turns out to be a fugitive Jesuit, and a bad case of the wobbles from the sudden arrival of Shakespeare's flirtatious daughter Judith from Stratford. Worse yet, expensive costumes are disappearing from the troupe's stores, and news comes that his stage-struck friend Julia is in desperate straits in Paris. On the other hand, Widge is given a partial script that Shakespeare has given up on, about the changing fortunes of one Timon, and finds himself on the verge of discovering a vocation. Peppered like its predecessors with hilarious wordplay and real stagecraft, with historical incidents woven into a complex but expertly controlled plot, this new act will draw enthusiastic ovations from fans, theatergoers, or otherwise. (Fiction. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews