Contact/Book Clubs
Buy the Books: You can purchase my books at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble or you can visit your local bookstore. To find an independent bookstore in your area, go to www.indiebound.org
Book an Appearance: I am available to speak at book clubs, writers’ conferences, university seminars, library programs and other venues. To set a date, contact me at arliss@arlissryan.com
Coming Events: If you are in the area, please join me at one of these events:
24-25 September – Florida Heritage Book Festival, St. Augustine, FL – historical fiction presentation and book signing
11 October – FoxTale Book Shoppe, Woodstock, GA – historical fiction presentation and book signing
12 October – Ivy Hall Writers Series, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA – historical fiction presentation and book signing
23 October – Northeast Florida Sigma Tau Delta Conference, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL – historical fiction presentation and book signing
November – Gulf Coast Shakespeare Festival, Fort Myers, FL – Shakespeare presentation and book signing
A Special Note to Book Clubs: Please consider The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare for your next book club selection. It’s sure to spark a lively discussion on a broad range of topics. I have provided a list of discussion questions below and would be happy to chat with your group by speaker phone.
The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare – Discussion Topics
1. As a young girl, Anne is portrayed as having a vivid imagination and a strong intellect. What do you think her fate would have been had she not married Will Shakespeare and run after him to London?
2. In the novel, both Will and Anne leave their children behind while they pursue a career in London. Were they justified in abandoning their children even if it brought their family economic security and fame?
3. Was it cowardly of Anne not to take credit for writing Romeo and Juliet and her other plays? Or was it realistic, given the status accorded to women at the time?
4. All three of Anne’s lovers in the novel–Will, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson–are younger than herself. What attracted these men to her? What do you think of her choice in men?
5. Anne counts herself lucky to have two special friends: the wardrobe master Mr. Phipps and the rich and powerful Bess of Hardwick. How do these friendships also enrich her writing?
6. Anne’s relationship with her two daughters is rocky, as is the relationship between the daughters themselves. What would each of them have to change to achieve a harmonious relationship?
7. Shakespeare might not have nearly the reputation he does today had not two of his colleagues, John Heminge and Henry Condell, collected his plays for publication after his death. What part do luck and timing play in establishing any artist’s reputation?
8. In the end, do you feel Will and Anne had a successful marriage? A loving one?
9. Though little is known about the real Anne Shakespeare, she is often portrayed as a shrewish wife whom Will was right to abandon. How has the novel changed your view of Anne?
10. If The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare were made into a movie, which actors would you cast as Will and Anne? Whom would you pick to play Kit Marlowe, Ben Jonson and Bess of Hardwick?
