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By Any Other Name

By: Jodi Picoult
Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown, Jodi Picoult, Jayne Entwistle, Andrew Fallaize, Joe Jameson, John Lee, Nicholas Guy Smith, Simon Vance, Steve West, Laura Benanti
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Publisher's Summary

In Elizabethan London, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her education has endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but still she is allowed no voice of her own.

Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees the theatre, Emilia discovers the power of stories to beguile audiences. Secretly, she forms a plan to bring a play of her own to the stage – by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

In modern-day Manhattan, playwright Melina Green finds a woman's voice is still worth less than a man's. But, inspired by the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, Melina takes a lesson from history and submits a play under a male pseudonym ...

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Jodi Picoult (P)2024 Penguin Random House LLC

Critic Reviews

'Her best one yet. Jodi Picoult has combined her trademark research with an astonishing and heart-rending story, embedded in truth, and turned it into a gripping novel.' (JoJo Moyes, author of Me Before You)
'Had me absolutely captivated ... I loved all the questions this novel raised about who gets to tell which stories and how complex that can become. Jodi Picoult is a genius.' (Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne)
'Timely and affecting ... Picoult’s many, many fans will pounce on her latest incisive, pot-stirring tale.' (Booklist, starred)
'You’ll fall in love with Emilia Bassano, the unforgettable heroine based on a real woman that Picoult brings vividly to life. Book clubs will embrace this rich, inspiring story.' (Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale)

What listeners say about By Any Other Name

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Challenge your patriarchal view of history

This is not your usual Jodi Picoult. This is an adventure into challenging everything you have ever been told about Shakespeare’s work, and seeing it through much more credible lens. Is it perfect? Nope. Are there clunky bits? Yep. But as a novel that is founded on high quality historical research that rocks our modern day assumptions of culture? One that challenged everything I’ve thought about literature my whole life? It can’t be anything less than 5 stars. Well done JP. Thank you for giving voice to our sisters or the past. Anyone who trolls you about this book just doesn’t get it. You’re a genius.

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LOVED this book

people have complained it was patchy i cannot understand that it was a beautifully crafted book that really did make me reevaluate how insane it is that we’ve accepted the Shakespeare narrative without greater critical assessment

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  • Overall
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A masterpiece

Whatever your opinion or thoughts on the theory that behind the works of Shakespeare were a collection of writers including a woman, one cannot but admire and respect the tenacious research and literary craftsmanship displayed in this work by Jodi Picault. I was thoroughly intrigued and moved by Amelia’s story. Thought provoking indeed.

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A beautiful and meaniful story

Another captivating and in depth story by Jodi. I enjoyed the different characters and multiple readers. Loved the then and now cross over

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  • Overall
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Good story but too long

I am a big Jodi Picoult fan, however I feel this story should have been much shorter

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointingly patchy

Had me wondering if some parts we’re even written by Jodie P. At times this read like a trashy bodice- ripping novella that didn’t feel genuine.
Only halfway the author’s style and craft came through, showing good research and some depth.

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