Michael Morpurgo had once described Susan Cooper as "a storyteller of immense power". Only after reading one of her books, the 'King of Shadows', for myself that I can fully appreciate Morpurgo's approbation. There is one particular scene in one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, 'Julius Caesar', that is as revealing as it is memorable. I am referring to Act 4, Scene 3 of the play, in which Brutus, the Roman patrician, gently puts his serving-boy, Lucius, to bed after he had fallen asleep while playing a song for him. As insignificant as this scene seems, it appears to me to bear the impress of genius that has made Shakespeare what he is today. In my opinion, Susan Cooper's 'King of Shadows' draws its narrative power from these sort of 'small' and seemingly inconsequential incidents, this time between Shakespeare himself and one of his boy actors, his beloved "sprite", Nathan Field. What Shakespeare had done with Brutus, Copper has done with Shakespeare.The 'King of Shadows' is a rollercoaster of emotions. Nat Field wakes up one morning to find himself in 1599, the Elizabethan period. Unbeknownst to him at that point is that another Nathan Field from the sixteenth century had taken his place in modern day London. The latter Nathan has also been diagnosed with the Bubonic plague (also known as the Black Death). This gave Cooper great opportunity to compare the two periods, something which is very beneficial for a young reader who has been brought up in this modern, post-millennium era. And this where the real strength of Cooper's narrative lies. While she credits the works of the professor Andrew Gurr for all the specific and fascinating detail of the Elizabethan period, Cooper describes it with so much ardour that it feels as if you have stepped into a time warp yourself.It is for these reasons that Susan Cooper's 'King of Shadows' is definitely a great read for young adults, one that will hopefully help them to understand a lot of the aspects of Elizabethan London and theatre better, besides being a good story in its own right.
The new Globe Theatre in London was opened in 1997. (I've been there. We saw Vanessa Redgrave rehearsing the part of Prospero in The Tempest. I would have cheerfully offered up one of my vital organs for a chance to see the performance.) This book was published in 1999. I see that it is not available on the Globe's online shop, but if it isn't for sale in the gift shop itself then the Globe is doing a disservice to both itself and Miss Cooper. King of Shadows is a heartfelt love letter to The Globe, old and new, to William Shakespeare and his plays and to theatre itself in all its rambunctious life and magic.Nate Field is a young American actor brought over to London as part of a company made up entirely of boys to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream in the new Globe Theatre - Nate is to play Puck. One night Nate goes to bed with a fever and wakes up in 1599 and finds himself taking the place of one Nathan Field, loaned by his theatre company to one William Shakespeare to play Puck in a command performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream.Though the use of a time shift will be familiar to readers of Cooper's Dark Is Rising sequence, King of Shadows feels as if it was written by a different writer. A much, much better writer (and I loved the Dark Is Rising books.) Nate is an intelligent resourceful hero who comes to grips with his predicament quickly, but he is emotionally repressed after the death of his father, losing himself in his acting. The shock of the time shift and meeting Shakespeare knocks something loose, and despite some grim realities and harsh treatment by a fellow player, he falls in love with the world and a warm, father-son relationship develops with Shakespeare himself, who only recently lost his own son, Hamnet. Cooper brings the world of theatre, past and present, to warm life, full of strain and excitement and long hours and friendship and turbulent emotions. Nate's pain and loss finds expression through the language of the play, making Shakespeare real and vital utterly beautiful. This is a fantastic book.
What do You think about King Of Shadows (2005)?
I really like the way that this novel is original in its teaching about Shakespeare and Elizabethan England. The use of time travel as a theme is clever and engages contemporary young readers. For me, the protagonist was a bit boring and one-dimensional, and the plot was slow at times. I wasn't engaged and I am an adult who is very interested and has done a lot of work on Shakespeare, so I do wonder about how teenagers will get on.Be aware that the lexis is quite advanced for the seemingly targeted audience (10-13 year olds) - but this can provide a really good opportunity to improve and expand knowledge of vocab.
—Annabel
Susan Cooper's books are some of the first I remember reading (the wonderful "Dark is Rising" series), and having just written a book about a guy who gets inexplicably dropped back in time, I was rather surprised to find this book, written fifteen years ago by one of my favorite authors, about a boy who gets dropped back in time. So of course I had to check it out.Nat Field is a young American actor given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform at the reconstructed Globe Theater in London in 1999. One evening during rehearsals, he falls ill, and when he wakes, it's 1599. Time-travel stories, including my own "Camouflage," gravitate to whole century numbers, because magic likes zeroes, I guess. Anyway, Nat has some trouble adjusting to 1599, as you might imagine, but is captivated when he gets to meet Will Shakespeare. Nat navigates the perils of anachronistic knowledge reasonably well for a kid, and does not get burned as a witch. That's all I'll spoil for the rest of the book, which is a surprising, emotional read. Nat is hiding some secrets about his own past, which form a strong emotional core of the story. The past is well-researched, with details that bring it to life and are so well constructed that I could not tell which (if any) were invented or guessed at.The book is as good as fans of Cooper could hope for, and she uses Shakespeare's words to good effect, much as she used the prophecies in "The Dark Is Rising." It struck me that I think some of the deepest influences on my writing style reach back to those books, and so even though it was a quick read, it was a delight to discover this one. I totally identified with the time travel story, too. Recommended!
—Kyell Gold
This is excerpted from a review I wrote for the now-defunct Riverbank Review.Susan Cooper, who won the Newbery Medal for The Grey King (of the Dark Is Rising sequence) has full control of her magic. In King of Shadows (the title of the book comes from Midsummer Night’s Dream) she shows that she understands the magic of the theater; how a group of people in an enclosed space can make the impossible happen. In this splendid novel for young people, she has translated this understanding into a ravishing story. The tale wobbles a bit at the end, with Nat’s being sent to keep the plague from Shakespeare, that he might go on to write the rest of his plays. However, the power of words to move and to heal, the joys of being on stage and making the magic happen, and the richness of one boy’s connection to the greatest of English writers, is perfectly, limpidly clear.
—GraceAnne
