Product Description

Nat Field is a young actor who has travelled from America to rehearse and perform as Puck in a Midsummer Night's Dream, at the new Globe Theatre in London. As rehearsals intensify, Nat's health begins to fail and soon the rest of the cast are horrified to hear that he's been rushed into hospital with Bubonic Plague! Something strange happens, and as Nat's friends worry about him, he is experiencing an amazing adventure with the King of Shadows, William Shakespeare himself, and perfiorming in the original Globe Theatre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66450 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
King of Shadows is an exceptional work by Susan Cooper, bestselling author of

The Dark is Rising, Over Sea Under Stone, Silver on the Tree and many other magical and atmospheric books, and will not disappoint those who already wallow in the author's startling ability to conjure up clear images of place and time with the stroke of a pen.

Here we meet young Nat Field, a boy actor visiting London to perform at The Globe Theatre. Nat soon falls ill, and much to the amazement of the doctors looking after him, he has contracted the Bubonic Plague. As one young actor lies in isolation in Guy's Hospital, another wakes up in Elizabethan London and is drawn into rehearsals for A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside William Shakespeare himself and the two form a bond that can never be broken, even through time.

King of Shadows is a daring and complex novel, set against the backdrop of the life of an unhappy child who, by travelling unwittingly through time, learns how to face his real life troubles. As ever, Cooper's delicious descriptive prose combine with her elegant dialogue to bring her characters vividly to life, never taking the easy option, but allowing her players to develop and come to terms with their lives in their own time.

A remarkable book that is as intriguing as it is entertaining, King of Shadows could well be the best Susan Cooper yet. (Age 10 and over) --Susan Harrison

About the Author
Susan Cooper was born in Buckinghamshire, read English at Oxford and began her career as a reporter and feature-writer for the Sunday Times. Her sequence of fantasy novels, THE DARK IS RISING, won her numerous international awards, including the Newbery Medal. She has also written a Broadway play and several film scripts for TV and cinema. Susan Cooper lives in Connecticut, USA.

Customer Reviews

Shakespeare brought to life in this time-travel tear jerker
Nat Field, a young American orphan traumatized by the death of his father, comes to England to play Puck at The Globe. Somewhat bizarrely, he contracts Bubonic Plague and is rushed to Guy's. The next morning he wakes up in the house of Richard Burbage in 1599 and is raced off to The Globe to play (you've guessed it!) Puck in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Naturally, he meets Shakespeare and Gloriana and....I won't ruin any more of this fabulous story.

Susan Cooper has written a novel of genuine historical interest ( I have been researching the life of the real Nathaniel Field ever since) and powerful emotional impact - the end is breathtaking. I cried. Both times I read it. And I'm a 31 year old man!

READ THIS BOOK!

not as wonderful as her other books
I have always loved The Dark Is Rising Sequence by this author, counting it as one of my favourite reads. I was therefore delighted to find that she had written another book. However, I was disappointed by this attempt. Although I loved her portrayal of Shakespeare and his relations with Nat, I felt that not enough care was taken to ensure that the story was even halfway believable and I was disappointed by the rather rushed and predictable ending. I do feel that this book is worth reading though, as it shows flashes of the genius that ran through her earlier books.

King of Shadows Review
This book has not matched or even come close to the success of her other books. That said it is still a very readable and enjoyable book. It starts off in modern times where Nat Field has caught the plague. But it's not him the real Nat Field has switched into Shakespeare's time. He goes there acting alongside Shakespeare doing a famous play. Why is he there? Well that's pretty much the whole storyline. There are a few twists towards the end but the rest of it is just as you'd expect. It's not as fun as books like the Dark is Rising and has not got as good a plot. The story gets is a little slow at times and I found the best bits were where she was writing about the plague. Overall it's OK to read if you like her, but if you want to enjoy her storytelling at its best read the Dark is Rising series.