A Rose by Any Other Name

• Author: Mary McMyne
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Publication Date: July 18, 2024
• Publisher: Hachette Audio

Thank you to libro.fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

“A delightfully impish heroine… a tempestuous erotic connection… a captivating imagining of the life of the Dark Lady, the illusive inspiration for Shakespeare’s later sonnets.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

”A fascinating fictional exposé [with] a touch of mysticism and an LGBTQ+ twist.” —Booklist (starred review)

My name has only been whispered, heretofore…

England, 1591. Rose Rushe’s passion for life runs deep—she loves mead and music, meddles with astrology, and laughs at her mother’s warnings to guard her reputation. When Rose’s father dies and a noble accuses her and her dear friend Cecely of witchcraft, they flee to the household of respected alchemists in London. But as their bond deepens, their sanctuary begins to feel more like a cage. To escape, they turn to the occult, secretly casting charms and selling astrological advice in the hopes of building a life together. This thriving underground business leads Rose to fair young noble Henry and playwright Will Shakespeare, and so begins a brief, tempestuous, and powerful romance—one filled with secret longings and deep betrayals.

In this world of dazzling masques and decadent feasts, where the stars decide futures, Rose will write her own fate instead.

From the author of The Book of Gothel comes the lush, magical story behind Shakespeare’s sonnets, as told by one of his most famous subjects—the incendiary and mysterious Dark Lady.

After reading The Book of Gothel, I became an instant fan of Mary McMyne. She’s a fantastic writer, and I loved reading that one so much that I couldn’t wait to start this one. However, these two books differ quite a bit, swinging from fantasy to historical fiction, while still retaining McMyne’s gift for creating compelling characters and writing a plot that kept me wanting to read.

In this book, McMyne shows off her research abilities. Her depiction of Elizabethan England is impeccable and thoroughly researched. She brings us to the time of William Shakespeare, and gives us insight into the passion that Ol’ Bill brought to the table. Also, imagining the life and circumstances of the Dark Lady, the mysterious woman who helped to inspire the later sonnets in Shakespeare’s repertoire. 

Writing compelling characters wasn’t a fluke—McMyne does it just as well in this book. I’m not overly familiar with Shakespeare or the Dark Lady, although I did read a few Shakespeare plays and sonnets in high school. That didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book, which is predominantly character-driven. Rose is an independent, strong-willed, smart, free-spirited, talented, and cunning young woman. She dabbles in astrology, and has a gift for music and aspirations to play in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, she’s a woman in Elizabethan times and not the present day, so her options are extremely limited. When her father dies, a marriage to someone who can provide for her along with her mother and younger brother becomes a priority that can’t be ignored. Rose isn’t exactly a chaste woman worrying about her reputation, but neither is her best friend Cecely, another thing that made them approximately 400 years ahead of their time. 

These two find themselves hopping in and out of trouble, from one bad situation to another. Through it all, astrology is incorporated into the story, as are some spells that have been passed down to Rose from her Italian mother. But as these two run from the frying pan and into the fire, they find themselves in ever-worsening circumstances, to the point where they’re accused of being witches. But then again, any woman in those times who thought for herself and wasn’t reliant on a man and knew a little too much was always in danger of being accused of being a witch. There’s a sapphic thread to the story as well, and I really loved that aspect of their relationship, especially since all the men seemed like such jerks in the story. Yes, even Shakespeare.

The audiobook is narrated by Suzie Rai, and she did a good job with the story. She kept it intriguing and was fantastic with the accents. However, when she voiced the majority of the male characters, she used a nasal tone rather than using a deeper vocal tone, and it made it feel really immature instead of providing a voice that I can conjure a character image for. Instead, all I was able to visualize was a cartoonish type of character, where I can normally visualize a person, like I did for Rose and Cecely. 

Overall, I think I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had read it in ebook or physical book format, and avoided the way the voices for the male characters kind of grated on my ears. Besides that, I didn’t have any other issues with this one, and I especially liked that it focused exclusively on Rose. While she was a muse for Shakespeare, he doesn’t appear in the story at all for the first half, and then even after that, he’s still very much a side character. It allows Rose to be the star in her own story, which was so rare for the women of those times, and very much appreciated in these times. This one is a good fit if you like stories about feminists before their times, historical fiction with a dash of magical realism, and strong women with big dreams in societies that wanted to keep them small.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through my links.