For 400 years, writers have been borrowing the Bard's characters, lines, and plots — to great effect.
2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. His plays, sonnets, and words have had an unparalleled cultural impact, and continue to shape contemporary literature. The Bard’s legacy has yet to slow, and we’re honoring his life with those books which would not exist without his influence.
A.J. Hartley and David Hewson’s novelization of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was chosen as the Best Audiobook on Audible in 2014. Narrated by Richard Armitage (swoon) of the Hobbit films, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark takes Shakespeare’s original play into unexpected realms and reinvents the story we all thought we knew.
The title of Ray Bradbury’s dark and expertly crafted blend of fantasy and horror derives its name directly from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where, in Act IV, the Second Witch senses the arrival of Macbeth to the witches’ cave with the prophetic line, “By the pricking of my thumbs/Something wicked this way comes.” Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes follows two 13-year-old best friends and their terrifying experience with a traveling carnival. While the plot of Bradbury’s work doesn’t stem from Macbeth, the title elicits such an unsettling feeling, you know you’re in for a nightmarish ride well before chapter one.
Christopher Moore derived the plot of Fool directly from Shakespeare’s King Lear. However, Moore’s novel is seen through the eyes of the Fool, Pocket. This novel is an utterly bizarre and funny take on the Bard’s tale of a mad king and his deceitful daughters. In a sense, Fool is almost an ode to Shakespeare — throughout the novel, Moore makes references to Shakespeare’s other works through quotes and actual characters.
John Green’s YA bestseller focuses on one of the toughest topics — child cancer. Told through the point of view of Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old cancer patient, The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful love story amidst devastating circumstances. Green’s title is taken from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when Cassius says to Brutus, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” While Cassius dismisses the notion of fate, Green blatantly disagrees — sometimes fault lies in the nature of the hand we’re dealt.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston takes its name, verbatim, from Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction, which appears in Act III of The Winter’s Tale. Hermione Winters, Johnston’s protagonist, bears many parallels to Shakespeare’s Queen Hermione: both are pregnant, both are victimized, and both have hard choices to make. But Johnston’s Hermione, while victimized, is never a victim, and is the type of strong, independent, and brave heroine modern readers crave.
Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s lightest comedies — cross-dressing and cases of mistaken identity lead to two “happily ever afters”: a wedding for our heroine Viola, and one for her twin brother Sebastian, as well. In Celia Rees’s novel, The Fool’s Girl, her affection for Shakespeare shines throughout the tale, which centers on Viola’s daughter and Sebastian’s son. Some fan-favorite Twelfth Night characters also take center stage — along with the Bard, himself — in this fun, historical introduction to Shakespeare for YA fans.
