? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Different centuries, depressingly similar problems. By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult is a novel that tells the story of two women, 400 years apart, who dream of being playwrights. Picoult shows how the two women from very different times face tough battles to get their voices heard in a world dominated by men.

A tale of two playwrights. The book flips back and forth between Emilia Bassano’s life in 16th century England and her descendant Melina Green in modern-day New York — who share not only a bloodline but the fact that they have had work published under pen names to get around a literary world skewed in favor of the opposite gender.

You might already be familiar with some of Emelia’s works. The book’s protagonist from years past pays an actor by the name of William Shakespeare to pose as the author of Emilia’s work in a bid to have her voice heard. The other of the two intertwined narratives shows Melina struggling to get her new work on her 16th century ancestor featured in a theater festival, who likewise ends up seeing her work submitted under a different more manly sounding name.

But there may be some truth to this piece of fiction: The character Emilia was a real person who has also since been rumored to be the true author of the plays and sonnets attributed to the Bard of Avon. Shakespeare or not, Emilia lays claim to being the England’s first professional poet.

The book is an eye-opening look at the challenges women have faced in the arts, both in the past and today. Picoult does a fantastic job bringing Emilia's world to life and showing how far we’ve come—and how far we still have to go.

You can find the book on Amazon.

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