The Shakespeare Stealer
The book starts through the eyes of Widge, an orphan in England. He never knew his parents. At the age of seven he was adopted from the orphanage. Dr. Thomas Bright adopted him as an apprentice. The Brights didn’t show much care for him. He was taught to do charactery, which was the art of short, swift, and secret writing. One day a mysterious man appeared who determined his ability in charactery. After his tests the man bought Widge for ten pounds. They started traveling through a path by the woods. After traveling for a while they ran into a group of bandits. The mysterious man defeated the bandits then continued on their path. Eventually they arrived in Leicester. They arrived at a house outside Leicester. The next day Wedge entered a room where another man was sitting. As he walked to the man he said, “I am Simon Bass, your new master”. The man gave him a mission to copy down Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Simon only did this out of respect of Shakespeare and money. The following morning Widge and the mysterious man, named Falconer, set out for London. They arrived at London and Wedge waited till the play arrived. The day came and they went to the theater. Widge tried to get all of the play down but was not able to. He was given a second chance on Friday’s play. They headed on their way back to there resting place. On their way they ran into a man who was in the play, who was a fencing master. He and Widge talked about the play. Two days passed and Widge got his second chance. This time he hid behind the stage. As he finished and about to leave and actor caught sight of him. He tried to escape but his sword was stuck in the drapes. The actor was torn from getting him or the boy. He quickly did his job of firing a canon, and then went for the boy. The boy went down a flight of stairs before he was caught between two men. He was going to jump between the stairs until he heard someone yelling. “Fire! Fire!” He quickly escaped, and let out a sigh of relief. Until he realized he didn’t have the book he copied his shorthand into. He went back into the theater to look for it. As he was looking cannoneer apprehended him. They other actors asked why he had been behind the stage. Widge lied saying he wanted to be apart of the production. At first they didn’t believe him until the man he ran into yesterday convinced them. A man named Mr. Pope took him in. Many Weeks passed by and Widge felt like he was in a family. He became friends with other actors named Julian, and Sander. He met Shakespeare and even the Queen. He saved the live of a boy named Nick, which turned out for the worst. Julian turned out to be Julia, and she could no longer be an actor because female actors were forbidden. In the end Falconer paid Nick to betray the theater and steal the play. Mr. Armin, a man who taught Widge, chased him. Widge and he made a plan to cut Falconer off. They approached Falconer and Mr. Armin engaged him in battle. When Mr. Armin cut Falconer he turned out to be Mr. Bass. Mr. Armin told Widge that he and Falconer used to work for the same theater. Mr. Bass was a great makeup artist and swordsman. Widge eventually told the theater the truth and how he was told to steal the play. They forgave him and he felt like he was in a family.
