Agnes finds out that Henry has punched mathew and tries to punish him but when Joan steps him, she’s told him to write 10.000 words for punishment, without his powers.

I enjoyed the historical setting, I enjoyed the poetry that grows and evolves throughout, and I enjoyed the mystery to this story surrounding Henry's mother, the woman haunting his dreams, and those bold paragraphs in between each chapter - paragraphs that felt out of place with this book at first, but now that I've finished this story... I completely understand their significance, and they've made me very excited at the prospect of more to come. de Montaigne, Michel (1603). Essays. Translated by Florio, John. To my deare brother and friend M. John Florio, one of the Gentlemen of hir Maiesties most Royall Privie Chamber O'Connor, Desmond (3 January 2008). "Florio, John (1553–1625)". ODNB. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/9758. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)I had high expectations opening up this book, Akala is a master wordsmith and I wasn't disappointed at his first foray into the written world. The Dark Lady was beautifully poetic and enchanting - each voice unique and spell-binding. Here, we have an incredibly bland main character whose personality seems to be whatever Akala needs it to be in any given moment, and a host of extremely charicatured supporting characters about whom you really can't be bothered to give a crap. Love the references to Shakespeare. The use of Tudor street speak is a great way of gently exposing YAs to the language of the period in an accessible way. Salkeld, Duncan (2012). "Shakespeares, the Clerkenwell Madam and Rose Flower". Shakespeare among the courtesans: prostitution, literature, and drama, 1500–1650. Farnham, England: Ashgate. ISBN 9780754663874. Henry is an orphan, an outsider, a thief. He is also a fifteen-year-old invested with magical powers ...'

I expected this book to be brilliant so when it had such a slow start I was a little disappointed. I like fast paced, gripping books. However, it did get better and in the end turned out decent I think. It is a debut novel after all. Edmondson, Paul; Wells, Stanley, eds. (2004). Shakespeare's sonnets. Oxford University Press. pp.141–142. ISBN 978-0199256105. The story was also painfully clichéd in so many ways, and when Akala dragged the actual Shakespeare into the plot, it was like reading really bad, gratuitous fanfiction. Also, I have very strong suspicions that a future instalment will "reveal" that Shakespeare is Henry's father and his mother is the "Dark Lady" of whom Shakespeare wrote in his sonnets. Which is just ... no. Our Family Station in St Pancras is open from 10.00-12.00 every Friday and we're continuing to welcome schools, as well as families and adult learners to our courses and access events. All our in-person and livestreamed events are going ahead. Other services As for the story itself, I feel like it was suffering from an identity crisis. There felt like there were two stories being told. Each of these stories could have been interesting but they didn't really mesh well together. I found myself moved by the emotional human side of the story but the magical elements just seem slightly unnecessary.Upstart Crow S1E4 names Emilia as the Dark Lady and portrays her as annoyed with her depiction in sonnet 130 and more receptive to Kit Marlowe's crude but direct flattery. The series also includes the character of Lucy, a tavern-keeper from Africa. He has an intense pride in his low status one moment, and then he is suddenly magically adapted to noble life in the next. So there’s a lot of potential here, but it didn’t quite work for me. More work needed to go into building up the secondary characters and the magic system so that they didn’t feel like incidental add-ins. More importantly though, there needs to be a main narrative hook and I suspect that won’t materialise until the sequel, as this is certainly not a stand alone. It’s almost like it’s a prequel to the action really starting rather than a full novel in and of its own right. The poem concludes with the speaker saying that the Dark Lady’s beauty is so powerful that she’s transforming what others think beauty should be in her sadness.

Bagshawe, George (1933). Shakespeare under Elizabeth. New York: H Holt & Co. pp.64, 310. OCLC 560738426. In May 2018, Akala published Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire. The book is part memoir, part polemic, on the subject of race in modern Britain. It took me a little while to get to grips with the Elizabethan slang, which I felt was a rather fun and authentic touch once you settled into it. The only real issue I had was, unfortunately, with the magic - Henry has the ability to translate any language written on paper, a feat that - as far as the many European characters are concerned - is something wholly unique and unheard of before. His adoptive mother figure, Joan, also seems to have the ability to perform actual magic, including 'chi blasts' where she can telekentically hurl people and objects. His other step-mother, Agnes, is also able to actively curse people. When an opportunity arises Henry is asked to take over the shop from graham which is making needles, but to Graham’s surprise will he take the opportunity?I would have liked to understand the curse clearer, but loved the bit about Shakespeare - he did not disappoint. All too often these famous historical figures in real life, behave in ways that can only be disappointing. Like finding out a famous person you admire is a racist. You feel so very disappointed in them and in yourself for seeing something in them good, that clearly wasn't there. Shakespeare in his teeny role, behaved well. Which I appreciated and was a relief despite it being fiction. Lol. Rowse, A. L. (1973). Shakespeare's sonnets - the problems solved. London: Macmillan. pp.xxxiv–xxxv. ISBN 9780333147344.