It's been almost 14 years since I first read King of Shadows, and yet I don't think I'll ever outgrow it.

As an impressionable teenager, this book was a truly fascinating introduction to the magic of Shakespeare and theatre. It also opened my eyes to the power of words to move and heal.

The relationship that develops between Nat and Shakespeare is unbearably beautiful. It effortlessly bridges the 400 years that separate them in reality. Every moment they share betrays a deep connection, one that is weighed down with a lingering sense of poignancy. When Nat is cruelly wrenched back to his own time towards the end, I ached for him. Even now, just thinking of it brings back that same crushing ache.

There's not much else I can say. There are simply no words to articulate why exactly I love this book so much or why it will continue to stay with me long after its time. It's a book that has left an indelible mark on my heart and soul, and I know that it will always be a part of me.

Meeeeeeeh.

I've had the intention of reading this for years as it's a set text at work. When I was 11 or 12, I adored Susan Cooper's books. However, reading this as a fully grown adult? It was extremely clumsy. Incredibly so.

Cooper clearly put in a great deal of research regarding Shakespearean London, and this often came across as really, really information-dumping. There were extensive infodumps about Shakespeare himself, about specific plays, about Tudor London, about acting and stagecraft. Honestly, it felt as if Cooper had amassed all this research and simply dumped it onto the page and then tacked on a couple of characters at the very last moment.

I can understand why the English staff have such a great affection for this book. But I also comprehend why so many of the students loathe it. Additionally, I would very much like to see Shakespeare's Working With Children Check, please. Like... step away from the preteen boy, sir.

Overall, my experience of reading this book as an adult was far from what I had expected based on my childhood love for Cooper's works.

I have had a rather tumultuous experience with this book.

On one hand, I was initially captivated by its premise. The idea of a modern boy journeying back in time to Shakespeare's Globe and sharing the stage with the great playwright himself was truly fascinating.

Moreover, I greatly enjoyed all the meticulous historical details about life in Tudor London. The author did an excellent job of painting a vivid picture of that era, from the bustling streets to the elaborate costumes.

However, on the other hand, the story itself fell short of my expectations. It simply wasn't as engaging and compelling as it could have been. I found it difficult to form a connection with the characters, and as a result, I wasn't overly invested in what happened to them.

Overall, it seems that this book would be a great resource for a teacher to use in conjunction with "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to help students gain a better understanding of the historical context. But as a standalone novel, it's just average. It has its亮点, but it also has its flaws.

It was truly amazing.

It was so fascinating to explore all the rich history about the Shakespearian era.

The Shakespearian era is a period that is filled with countless intrigues, dramas, and masterpieces.

Shakespeare's plays are not only a reflection of the society and culture of that time but also a source of inspiration for generations to come.

The language, the characters, and the stories in his plays are so vivid and engaging that they can transport us back to that era and make us experience it firsthand.

Learning about the Shakespearian era is like opening a door to a whole new world, a world full of wonder and excitement.

It is a journey that we will never forget and one that will continue to fascinate us for a long time to come.

When King of Shadows commences in 1999, we are introduced to Nat Field, a member of an all-male acting company composed of boys aged 11 - 18. They are preparing to journey from the US to the UK to stage two Shakespeare plays at the newly reconstructed Globe theatre.

Nat muses, "We were going into a kind of time warp" (6). Given that this is a time-slip novel, this proves to be entirely accurate, although Nat is initially unaware of it. Nat, whose parents have passed away, is a talented actor, and the theater serves as an escape for him. The company is like a family, and he regards the backstage area as "our space, my space, a kind of home" (12).

I relish Nat's first sight of 20th-century London: "Looking down from the airplane, you saw a sprawling city of red roofs and grey stone, scattered with green trees, with the River Thames winding through the middle crisscrossed by bridge after bridge" (14). However, on the way to the Globe, strange things begin to occur. Nat experiences a "giddy feeling," as if the buildings are "moving, circling." He hears "a snatch of bright music" and detects the "sweet scent of lilies," followed by something else, something "that was not sweet at all but awful, disgusting, like a sewer" (21).

Later that night, Nat feels ill and succumbs to a feverish sleep. When he awakens the next morning, he discovers himself on a straw mattress in "another London, a London hundreds of years ago" (34). As it transpires, Nat is in 1599, taking the place of another Nat Field - a boy who, like him, is set to play Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe. (In this production, Nat soon learns that the role of Oberon will be played by Shakespeare himself!)

I found the scene-setting and Nat's adaptations to his new circumstances to be a mix of enjoyable and cumbersome. It was delightful to read about Nat receiving a tumbling lesson and a fencing lesson in 1599, yet some of the descriptions of Elizabethan London seemed overly forceful. Nat's interactions with Shakespeare, nevertheless, are excellent. Nat is still mourning the loss of his father, and Shakespeare consoles him, creating the sweetest dynamic - I nearly shed tears on several occasions. I also relished the description of the 1599 performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream - the costumes, the audience, and even the presence (unknown to most of the crowd) of the Queen herself.

Nat's eventual return to the 20th century is arduous for him, but I appreciate that he finds solace in poetry and place - by reading a Shakespeare sonnet and by observing "the River Thames, which flowed on fast and grey-green and unchanging, just as it had last week, just as it had four or forty centuries ago" (163).

This was truly a disappointment.

It was an entire book centered around an extremely annoying boy who had the personality of a wet noodle. His only notable character traits were his obsessive fangirling over Shakespeare and his constant remarks about how smelly London was.

The story was unbelievably boring, lacking any real excitement or engaging plot. It felt like a complete waste of time to read through this uninteresting narrative.

The author failed to bring the character to life or develop any sort of depth or complexity.

Overall, this book was a huge letdown and I would not recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable read.

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper is an enthralling historical fiction novel. It tells the story of Nat Field, a young actor from Falmouth, Massachusetts. He has a passion for acting and embarks on a journey to London with an elite all-boys troupe to perform in a newly erected theater similar to Shakespeare's. But upon arrival, he falls ill. When he wakes up, he discovers to his astonishment that he is in sixteenth-century Elizabethan London! Now a sheltered boy from St. Paul's, an acting school for the wealthy, he finds himself on loan to his idol, Shakespeare. He must quickly adapt and perform with the other actors, even in front of Queen Elizabeth. Nat develops a special bond with Shakespeare and has the time of his life. However, he soon starts to worry about what will happen after the play and what has become of his own world.

\\tI truly enjoyed this book. The plot was masterfully laid out, and all the characters were distinct and realistic. It was an exciting adventure traveling with Nat and his friends. Some of the characters were unlikable, while others were endearing. Nevertheless, the book was not without its flaws. There were several scenes that were confusing and required multiple readings to understand. For instance, when Queen Elizabeth invites Nat to talk with her and then leaves, new characters suddenly appear. The author fails to describe how the Queen exits and these characters enter, which makes the scene rather perplexing. Additionally, the use of Old English makes it difficult to understand at times. The extremely strange scenes with even stranger dialogue can be almost impossible to interpret, yet the author assumes the readers are experts. This is evident in many scenes, such as when Nat is practicing his lines with the other actors and they have disputes and engage in long, confusing speeches that seem to be in a different language. Moreover, the author leaves out parts of the story, leaving things unexplained and creating plot holes. One such instance is at the end, when Nat returns to his own world and snaps at Arby, his acting instructor. Arby appears to know about Nat's travels and losses, but when Nat asks, he receives no response. This leaves the readers with a sense of dissatisfaction. Overall, I give this book four stars because despite its many flaws, it is an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it.

I'm approximately halfway through King of Shadows in this edition (on OpenLibrary). However, I don't believe the cover does justice to the book.

The story is much darker, featuring elements such as whores, bear-baiting, and Nat's father had committed suicide. I think I would have been traumatized if I had read this at age 11 or even 14. That's why I'm reviewing an edition with a more appropriate cover.

Each reader is unique. I was relatively sheltered, and some kids are extremely sensitive. I just find that the brightly colored picture on the current cover gives the impression of something cheery and fun for young children, which is not the case.

Anyway, I did enjoy the book. I appreciate the details and especially like certain parts here and there. For example, WS being informed that the wig was a little too red, and the skin painting in lieu of a costume for Puck, and the fact that the character used the term 'time slip' accurately.

Goodness gracious! This book is truly even better than I recalled from several years ago when I first read it. It is an excellent piece of storytelling, filled with extremely interesting characters. While Nat and Shakespeare are the standouts, the others are also quite alright. As a first-time reader, I was utterly fascinated by the vivid descriptions of Elizabethan England. This time around, I was especially drawn to the masterful characterization of Nat and Shakespeare, as well as the captivating details about the "magic" of the theater, something I now appreciate far more than I did as a teenager.

I was a little disappointed at the end of the novel. Cooper neatly wrapped up many loose ends, such as "how/why did Nat get sent back through time?" But at the same time, she also left some things to suggestion, like how Arby seemingly manipulated circumstances to have Nat sent through time. With this foreknowledge, he almost seems like an Old One from Cooper's "Dark is Rising" series. However, Cooper handled these ends so skillfully that I can't really be too upset.

Here's a random thought: Nat and his Aunt Jen still sound quite British, despite supposedly being American. But then again, if I were to write a book, I'm sure all my characters would sound like my native nationality, so perhaps I should stop complaining.

Let's do a cover art critique, shall we? I think the cover picture here, with a half-Elizabethan Nat and half skateboarder Nat, is rather aggravating and fails to attract the attention of young readers. Nat doesn't look "cool" enough, nor does he look intrigued. Cover-Nat seems annoyed to be in the book. My favorite cover, the one that first attracted me to the book as a teen, showed a shadowed figure against a spiral of light. It was much cooler. Thankfully, either of the aforementioned covers is better than the eyesore I saw elsewhere on the Internet, with a cracking Shakespeare bust and rats. Rats? Really?

Anyway, 'tis a good book. I highly recommend it. Thusly. Verily. Muchly.

(Read several years ago; reread now)
Rating: Probably a 4.5 if we're going to be exact.

Toward the end of his life, when he was writing little and acting less, he wrote one more great play, and he wrote you into it.

This line has always had a profound impact on me, and it still does to this day. The five-star rating I gave is not simply because of nostalgia; this is truly a remarkable piece of work.

The ending might now require a greater suspension of disbelief compared to when I was ten, but that doesn't bother me. It is a charming and atmospheric story that delves into art, family, and escape. Strangely enough, despite being written by Susan Cooper, it seems to be an overlooked title.

I truly wish it wasn't. This book is directly responsible for my love of time travel and Shakespeare. If only King of Shadows was more widely remembered and read. It is a hidden gem that deserves to be discovered and cherished by a wider audience.

I hope that more people will come across this wonderful book and experience the magic it holds within its pages.

So yes, Susan Cooper's King of Shadows is truly a remarkable piece of historical fiction. In this story, 20th century Shakespearean actor Nat Field finds himself transported back in time to 16th century London, where he becomes a theatre apprentice at the newly constructed Globe Theatre, under the tutelage of none other than William Shakespeare himself.

The author, Susan Cooper, has an in-depth knowledge of history, which is evident in the way she brings 16th century London to life. From the bustling streets filled with the sights, sounds, and even the smells of the city, to the inner workings of the Globe Theatre, every detail is meticulously described.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the use of Nat's Appalachian drawl as a narrative device. This not only adds an element of authenticity to the story but also helps to bridge the gap between the modern and historical worlds.

However, King of Shadows is not just a fun and entertaining time travel adventure. It also deals with some heavy and potentially saddening issues, such as Nat's personal grief and trauma.

As a child reader, I might have simply accepted the reasons given for Nat's time travel. But as an adult, I find myself questioning some of the logistics. For example, if Shakespeare catching the plague from Nathan Field would prevent him from writing his famous plays, then how do these plays exist in the present day?

Despite these minor flaws, King of Shadows is still a great read. It is perfect for young Shakespeare and history enthusiasts, as well as anyone looking for a delightful and engaging escape into the past.

Join Nat (Nathan) Field as he embarks on an extraordinary journey. He, along with Arby, an eccentric and mysterious dramaturg, and a modern-day all-boy's troop, heads to London to perform 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on the Globe Stage. But Nat's adventure takes an unexpected turn when he is transported back to 1599. There, he becomes Shakespeare's protégé and gets to play Puck onstage. The story weaves together the mystery of what causes Nat to end up in the past, what happens to modern Nat while he's in another time, and the importance of family, comradery, and history.

The book is remarkable for its attention to detail. It not only delves into Shakespeare's life, family, finances, and writing but also brings to life the real people who inhabited his world, including Queen Elizabeth the First. It also focuses on maintaining historical accuracy of the 1500s in various aspects such as disease, the Tower of London, clothing, food, drink, the arts, and political figures and their influence on the arts.

The book hits close to home for Nat as his parents have both passed away, and father figures play a crucial role in the story. The relationship that develops between Nat and Shakespeare is truly heartwarming. Additionally, the book mentions the real person of Nathan Field, and it's recommended to look him up after reading to avoid spoilers.

The reason this book may no longer be widely available is that it is set in 1999. While it doesn't mention much about fashion or pop-culture aside from the year, it would be great if the author could simply update a few words to bring it forward in time and republish it. With its engaging story and historical accuracy, it would likely gain popularity again in circulation.