** spoiler alert ** After reading the preface, I decided to do what was suggested: skip to the back of the book and read the play, and then return to the 'Introduction' (which is actually the meat of the book). This turned out to be a good idea for me for two reasons: (1) since it clearly *is* the case that this play was written by the character's father to describe their lives, knowing it's contents provides a few interesting connections while reading the introduction, and (2) it seems that I enjoy Shakespeare's writing style more than Phillips's, and if I'd come to the play after reading the rest of the book I might not have had the patience to give it a try.

I think the biggest issue this book is going to have is confusion - I know they're trying to fake the 'major historical find' of a new Shakespeare play, but from the beginning it's not always obvious what's part of the book's made-up setting and what's not (aggravated by the packaging of the advanced copy). I think this will limit the readership that really finds the book enjoyable, and some readers will take fictional portions of the book as fact (like the number of Goodreads reviews for this book that talk about how interested the reader is to read a new Shakespeare play or how excited they are to learn more about author Arthur Phillip's life).

In the end, the author's style just doesn't sit quite right with me. Formal and wordy, but without the satisfaction of having read something *really good* or a really great plot or setting twist to provide the necessary satisfaction to have made the effort worthwhile. (Note: I checked out GoogleBooks previews for The Egyptologist and The Song is You, and found that I had the same problem with them. If you've enjoyed Arthur Phillip's other books, you'll likely not have the same difficulties with this one that I did.)