| Plot Summary of Murder in Stratford |
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Five Star, Mar 2005, 25.95, 202 pp.
ISBN: 1594142734
In Stratford upon Avon, Will Shakespeare, who works in his father's Glover shop, courts and marries Anne Hathaway. Over the next few years, they seem happy together though Will who studied law was bored. When he had an opportunity to join a traveling troupe, he leaves his spouse and children behind though he sends money and visits infrequently.
Will's fame as a writer begins to grow, but on one of his trips home, his boyhood pal, the odious arrogant Richard Quiney, who tried to boorishly seduce his friend's wife Anne, is murdered. The corpse is found in the Shakespeare garden. The constable assumes Will killed the man in a crime of passion. Anne believes otherwise and is determined to prove her spouse is innocent. As the list of those with motives to kill the loathsome Richard seems to grow, almost as if the entire town and surrounding villagers had a reason to murder him, the killer watches Anne to insure she does not get to close to the truth.
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Murder in Stratford |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- elizabethan era
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- homemaker
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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