The Lambs of London* - Peter Ackroyd

When I was in elementary school, I bought a book called Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. It was a book for children that included prose versions of Shakespeare's plays. I loved that book (I think my mom might still have it) and it was how I first became familiar with Shakespeare's stories, long before I was old enough to understand and appreciate the actual plays. The Lambs of London is a fictional account of the lives of Charles and Mary Lamb and their preoccupation with all things Shakespeare. The Lambs lived at the turn of the 19th century - roughly 200 years after Shakespeare. They befriend a bookseller named William Ireland who purports to have a benefactor who has turned over to him a number of Shakespeare's personal effects, including legal documents and a long-lost play. Mary, suffocating at home with her overbearing mother and a senile father, falls in love with Ireland and the promise of his marvelous discovery. Charles in turn self-medicates, while he struggles with his own writing and making something of himself at the East India Company. As with all historical fiction, I wondered how much of the story was based in fact, and it was difficult to just lose myself in the story. Ackroyd's writing is not particularly engaging, but I was fascinated by the character of Mary Lamb whose frustrations in dealing with societal norms for women was truly heartbreaking. The Lambs of London is a fun slice of Shakespearean obsession -- and for me a great background into the people who first introduced me to the great playwright.

(* - listed in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die)