Shakespeare Rewritten

     We've all heard of William Shakespeare, right?  Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, All's Well That Ends Well?
     But did you know that there are many novels that have been written based on Shakespearean plots and characters (the technical term for this is "pastiche") or imagined accounts of Shakespeare's life?  These works usually serve to celebrate Shakespeare's creations rather than to mock them. 
     Here are a few titles you could take a look at.  See if you recognize the Shakespearean plot or style or characters they employ.

Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray
Meet the Cacciamanis and the Rosemans, rival florists and bitter enemies for as long as either family can remember, until one day when divorced Julie Roseman and widowed Romeo Cacciamani meet by chance at a small business seminar in the Boston Sheraton.

Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper 

Her engagement to William Shakespeare broken by his forced marriage to a pregnant Anne Hathaway, Anne Whateley pursues a clandestine affair with the bard that is complicated by Elizabeth I's campaign to eradicate Catholicism.

I, Iago by Nicole Galland
From the author of The Fool's Tale comes a brilliantly-crafted retelling of Shakespeare's Othello in which the "true" motivations of literature's greatest villain, Iago, are revealed.

Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike
Set before the action begins in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," this speculative novel follows the lives of Gertrude and Claudius, King and Queen of Denmark, as they wend their way towards adultery and treachery to ascend the throne.

Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon
A mystery sequel to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, set in thirteenth-century Europe, concerns a secret organization known as the Fool's Guild, the murder of the Duke of Orsino, and a jester's struggle with Malvolio, a supporter of Saladin.

Macbeth by A.J. Hartley
A novelized adaptation of Shakespeare's play follows Macbeth and his wife as they develop a plan to keep Scotland united but find themselves entangled in a web of murder and treachery.