cover image I Was Cleopatra

I Was Cleopatra

Dennis Abrams. Groundwood, $18.95 (200p) ISBN 978-1-77306-022-4

Abrams’s first novel is a well researched yet at times impersonal fictional memoir of John Rice, an actor who performed at Shakespeare’s theater as a boy. John, age 35 when the book opens, pays a sad and loving farewell to his past life through the narrative that follows. At 13, John leaves his home in Reading, England to join the King’s Men theater troupe in London. His beauty, sensitivity, and feminine qualities allow him to excel at playing female characters at a time when women were played exclusively by men. PW correspondent Abrams meticulously details John’s development as an actor, playing under various masters, including Shakespeare himself; the Bard’s lines appear throughout. John is cast in the biggest roles—Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, and Cordelia—at the Globe Theater, but feels lonely despite romantic attention from a fellow actor. Abrams’s discussion of gender fluidity and sexuality are among the novel’s most intriguing aspects. His knowledge of the historical era and Shakespeare’s oeuvre are evident, yet for all the verisimilitude Abrams brings to the page, his prose has a detached quality that may fail to fully engage readers. Ages 12–up. [em](Apr.) [/em]