The Shakespeare Stealer

A delightful adveture full of humor and heart set in Elizabethan England!

Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's players perform. As full of twists and turns as a London alleyway, this entertaining novel is rich in period details, colorful characters, villainy, and drama.

* "A fast-moving historical novel that introduces an important era with casual familiarity." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Readers will find much to like in Widge, and plenty to enjoy in this gleeful romp through olde England" --Kirkus Reviews

"Excels in the lively depictions of Elizabethan stagecraft and street life." --Publishers Weekly

An ALA Notable Book

Author: Gary Blackwood
Publisher: Puffin Books
Published: 07/01/2000
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.39lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.16w x 0.59d
ISBN: 9780141305950
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.2
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 28290 / Shakespeare Stealer


Award: Young Hoosier Book Award - Nominee
Award: Nutmeg Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/26/2000

About the Author
Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since. His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre. Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena. His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN, and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER, are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe. Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He and his wife and kids live outside Carthage, MO.