The Fool's Girl (28 page)

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Author Note

Twelfth Night
is my favourite Shakespeare play. The plot has similarities to
Gl’Ingannati
, a story by Matteo Bandello, but it is not quite the same. If Shakespeare did borrow the tale, he turned it into something else, with different characters, in a different time and setting. I was caught by the idea of Illyria, not just as a fantasy world, but as an actual place. What could happen to these people if Illyria was a real country on the Adriatic Sea? What might happen in Illyria after the end of Shakespeare’s play?

To tell the story in the way I wanted, Shakespeare would have to be in the book. In the past I have avoided including real historical figures, especially the very famous, who have libraries of books written about them. There are few absolute facts about Shakespeare’s life. This allowed me to think that I could include him in the story. I wanted to write about Shakespeare
before
he was Shakespeare, when he was just Will from Warwickshire, trying to make a living in the competitive and precarious world of Elizabethan Theatre.

To write a book that includes such a revered and famous figure is still a daunting prospect. My agent, Rosemary Sandberg, gave me the extra impetus to do it. She loves
Twelfth Night
as much as I do and loved the idea. I am grateful for her enthusiasm and encouragement, not just for this book, but for all the others. This book is for her.