10 Novels Inspired by Shakespeare
Although William Shakespeare’s plays were written centuries ago, they still have a prominent relevance in today’s culture — and English classes. Even after hundreds of years worth of changes, their narratives can still be applied to stories today — though with fresh takes and through a modern lens. While the cast of characters and certain storylines may be different, the central themes still shine through as these new characters deal with romance, grief, oppression, and even the supernatural. If you’re looking to experience these plays in a reimagined way, then these 10 adaptations based on the bard’s work have got you covered.
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Add to BookshelfHamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell
Though he’s never named, a successful playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon (how many could there have been?) mourns the loss of his eleven-year-old son Hamnet — a victim of the bubonic plague. Unlike Shakespeare’s Hamlet — a tale of a man tortured by the loss of his father — Hamnet reverses these roles with a father torn to pieces by the death of his beloved son. With dual timelines that track life before and after Hamnet succumbs to his illness, we not only see how his death shatters the family but also how his father channels his grief through his pen, honoring Hamnet with a play of his very own.
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Vinegar Girl
by Anne Tyler
In present-day Baltimore, Kate Battista is the daughter of an ingenious scientist and a neglectful father, Dr. Louis Battista. At twenty-nine years old, Kate must keep her house running and her sister taken care of, while her father runs experiments and makes scientific breakthroughs. But when his irreplaceable lab assistant, Pyotr, reveals that his work visa is on the verge of expiration, Dr. Battista hatches a plan to keep him in the country as his lab assistant — and as Kate’s new husband. At first reluctant to help her father, Kate’s icy demeanor is one that warms to Pyotr when he proves he can handle her sting.
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Hag-Seed
by Margaret Atwood
After the beloved director of the Makeshiweg theater festival, Felix Phillips, is unexpectedly dismissed from his position, he takes it upon himself to seek revenge. Years before, Felix lost his wife Nadia in childbirth, and then his daughter Miranda three years later to meningitis. The pain of the past works its way into his art when he pours himself into a production of The Tempest — that is until he’s blindsided by his scheming assistant, Tony. Now teaching Shakespeare at a prison, Felix revives his production of The Tempest and casts himself in the role of Prospero. With an unsuspecting Tony in the audience, Felix takes one last shot at revenge and redemption.
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We That Are Young
by Preti Taneja
Set in modern-day New Delhi, the Devraj sisters — Sita, Radha, and Gargi — are pitted against each other by their father to inherit his business and his billions, leaving the sisters with more power in their hands than they can hold. But, soon after taking over, the sisters drive their family dynasty into the ground, overtaken by the desire for control, and the willingness to do anything to keep it.
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The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Le Cirque des Rêves is a spectacle of mystery — it arrives unannounced, seemingly from thin air, and only holds shows at night. Drawing on themes from multiple Shakespearean tragedies and comedies, this is the story of two lifelong competing magicians, trained from birth to destroy the other. When they come of age, both magicians are sent to Le Cirque des Rêves to continue their training and prepare for the upcoming battle. Neither knows who their destined opponent is, or that they are also studying at the circus. When the pair fall in love, unaware of the true consequences, they soon realize that they are players on a very deadly stage.
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If You Come Softly
by Jacqueline Woodson
Coming out of a dream, and straight into a flashback, Ellie thinks back to her whirlwind, and secretive, romance with Jeremiah, one of the few Black students at their private school. Despite the obstacles that they know lie ahead, Ellie and Jeremiah begin a relationship. Ellie confides in her sister about their circumstances, who warns that their parents may not react well to Ellie dating a Black boy. But as their relationship progresses, and Ellie works up the courage to tell her parents, it’s viciously taken away — in a Romeo and Juliet adaptation, these violent delights always have violent ends.
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Lady Macbeth
by Susan Fraser King
Pregnant and widowed, Lady Rue — the last female descendent of her Scottish royal lineage — is forced to marry her husband’s murderer — MacBeth. Soon after their wedding, the new Lady MacBeth gives birth to a son, a possible heir to the throne. Though cold at first to her new husband, she soon realizes his honorable intentions towards uniting their divided kingdom, and she accepts their marriage as a partnership. But when King Malcolm dies and his throne goes to his tyrannical son Duncan, Lord and Lady MacBeth find themselves in trouble when Duncan’s first order as king is to execute any of his competitors for the throne.
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The King of Infinite Space
by Lyndsay Faye
When his father’s death is unconvincingly ruled a suicide, and his mother mysteriously marries his uncle, Ben Dane is anguished by all of his unanswered questions. Ben turns to his ex-fiancé Lia, and his best friend Horatio for solace and their help to discover the truth behind his beloved father’s death. Although Ben doesn’t see his father’s ghost, he discovers frantic videos that he left behind, fearful that someone was watching him. With chapters that alternate between Ben, Lia, and Horatio’s perspectives, secrets unfold that will give Ben the answers, or reveal something rotten in his state of denial.
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Two Wrongs Make a Right
by Chloe Liese
Much Ado About Nothing’s Benedict and Beatrice are the blueprint for the enemies-to-lovers trope, and their modern-day counterparts, Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot, follow suit in this contemporary romance. Though the two are convinced that they could not be a worse match, their friends will do anything to get them together. The one solution to put their friends’ crazy ideas to rest? Pretend to fall passionately in love, and then messily and publicly break up. But when fake dating turns to real feelings, Jamie and Bea realize that while opposites attract, they might just be two sides of the same coin.
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The Dreamers
by Karen Thompson Walker
When college student Kara Sanders returns to her dorm after a night out, she falls asleep — but can’t wake up. Her roommate Mei calls the paramedics when she finds Kara’s perpetually sleeping body. Others become infected with the sleeping virus too, puzzling doctors at the hospital where they rest. But are they really just sleeping, or are they dreaming too? When doctors realize that there is more brain activity happening in these sleeping patients than ever before, panic spreads through town just as quickly as the virus. Not only do they fear falling victim to falling asleep, but entering into dreams that may lead to a brutal awakening.
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