The Fool's Girl - Book Review

The Fool’s Girl

Celia Rees

 YA Historical

Young and beautiful Violetta may be of royal blood, but her kingdom is in shambles when she arrives in London on a mysterious mission. Her journey has been long and her adventures many, but it is not until she meets the playwright William Shakespeare that she gets to tell the entire story from beginning to end. Violetta and her comic companion, Feste, have come in search of an ancient holy relic that the evil Malvolio has stolen from their kingdom. But where will their remarkable quest--and their most unusual story--lead? In classic Celia Rees style, it is an engrossing journey, full of political intrigue, danger, and romance.

This wholly original story is spun from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and includes both folly and suspense that would make the Bard proud.

Review:

Ever since I read ‘Pirates’, I have been a big fan of Celia Rees and like all her novels, ‘The Fool’s girl’ did not disappoint. Set in Shakespearean England, the plot is devised from the famous play of Twelfth Night and centres around Violetta, an exiled Duchessa who is on a mission to restore her country to its former glory and claim back her title as ruler of Illyria.  Along with her trusted fool Feste she forms a plan to steal back the holy-relic that was plundered from her city, but to pull it off she must enlist the help of the playwright Will (Shakespeare) and his band of actors. Yet despite Will’s reluctance to help, their lives become tangled together and Violetta finds herself in the centre of a web danger, romance, political plots and religious conspiracies…

I must admit that it took me awhile to get into this book, mainly as the timeline within the story shifts back and forth from present to past, flipping from one characters perspective to the other. However once you settle into the rhythm you will soon find yourself captivated, swept up into a story of intrigue and power.

As usual, Celia Rees paints the time period beautifully, with vivid imagery and easily flowing prose that, at times, is as educational as it is beautiful. Not only does she give the reader a breath-taking glimpse into the past, but adds elements of old magic into the mix that somehow, still manages to keep the story within the realm of possibility – one of the reasons I love her work so much. Even though ‘The Fool’s Girl’ is a work of fiction, it is easy to imagine it being a true tale. It is most definitely an interesting and entertaining read.

Therefore with its depth and attention to detail, I would recommend this book to all fans of historical fiction. However I will also add that although I thought this book was a great read, it was not an easy one. A reader must be prepared to commit to this story as it can be quite confusing at times but I believe it is worth the effort.  3 ½ stars!

Side Note

Hey guys, just a note to let you know that I won’t be posting on the blog again until the middle of next week. This is my final week at Uni (bring on graduation!) and I’m totally bogged down with assignments and last minute chaos! L At least the end is in sight! See you all next week!