Escape from Verona

by David Gray

Escape From Verona, Juliet's long-lost diary, begins where Shakespeare leaves off, explaining how she and Romeo fake their deaths and escape from the Capulet family tomb. Their escape does not bring peace to Verona. They are accused of murder and witchcraft and are hunted by powerful forces, including the Papacy and the Venetian government. Their adventures require not only eluding capture, but they must also learn what it means to love one another without the backdrop of their family feud. What sacrifices are required for a well-bred young woman and a proud young swordsman to survive together? Is heedless passion enough to make their marriage last? As the lovers flee across northeast Italy they encounter many other characters made famous in Shakespeare's plays, Petruchio, Shylock, Desdemona and Othello among them. Their efforts are further aided by many of the artists of the late Renaissance, including Palladio, Tintoretto, Veronese and Titian.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Italy, Retellings, Young Adult, Shakespeare

496 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

David Gray began his professional career in the publicity office of Doubleday Publishing after graduation from Johns Hopkins University. It didn’t take long for him to decide that writing and publishing were not the same thing so he quit his job, became a bartender and writer. He wrote plays and was a founding member of the Catalyst Theatre Company in New York which performed a number of his plays.

He continued writing plays and short stories and soon added nonfiction articles to the list. His first novel was a work-for-hire as a ghost writer for a popular series of children’s mystery books. The experience proved time consuming and minimally remunerative so Gray decided that making a profession of writing and a hobby of investing and finance was probably not as smart as making a career of investing and finance and a hobby of writing. He became a Certified Financial Planner and soon found himself working as Executive Director of a number of nonprofit arts organizations.

His second book, a novel for 9-11 year olds titled Zoxil Prolot: First Report From Earth, was published in 2006. His first nonfiction title, The Finance Arts Guide to Nonprofit Cash Flow was published in 2010.

Escape From Verona is Gray’s first work of historical fiction. The book required years of research and trips to Italy where Gray and his wife, former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer, Kyra Nichols, visited the many locations where characters that served as inspiration for Shakespeare’s Italian plays were supposed to have lived, and where the great artists of the late Italian Renaissance including Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Palladio lived and worked.

Gray now runs Finance Arts, LLC, a firm that offers personal financial planning, as well as consulting to nonprofit organizations. Gray is a captivating speaker and conducts frequent training sessions on topics related to finance and nonprofit management.

Reviews

[Elizabeth La Lettrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the premise of this book was good but the execution - not so much. First of all, the story of Romeo and Juliet is one of the English language's greatest love stories OF ALL TIME - hence the need to follow a strong romantic tradition if your intent is to follow the traditional story. There was absolutely no romance in this book with the exception of the occasional sex scene (with details spared). I was not even convinced that they loved each other! Interestingly enough, the story is narrated by Juliet but written by a male which - I assume - could account for the complete lack of a real feminine perspective. The characters of Romeo and of Juliet are nothing like the Romeo and Juliet we know.. and that is not a good thing. I can understand that we have to remember that Romeo and Juliet are still young teens in the traditional story but there were so many contradictions as far as their maturity levels were concerned that it made their characters entirely unbelievable. Other reviewers seemed to be intrigued by the inclusion of real historical figures (like the artists Titian, El Greco, etc.) but the manner in which they enter the story seem a little farfetched. I don't feel like accused criminal fugitives would really be lucky enough to have the incredible good fortune to meet such illustrious people. I want to believe that this could have been a good adventure story but there were entirely too many coincedences (and the fact that I was incredibly bored doesn't exactly add to the feel of a good adventure story). And what's a love story without love?

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up Escape From Verona, I admit that I was one nervous reader. This was due in part because Romeo and Juliet is my all-time favorite Shakespeare play. And I’m a huge Shakespeare geek. I own his entire collection (as well as a lot of double copies because I like to collect some just strictly for the covers or editions). So, going into this story I was nervous to see how it would play out. How well the characters would continue on AFTER. And it astounded me.


The amount of detail and research that was put into this novel was phenomenal and so well-crafted. I read through this with such ease and I thoroughly loved every bit of it. To see things with Romeo and Juliet, a life between the couple on the run after faked suicides was excellent. I can honestly say that if Shakespeare were alive today, I think he’d be very proud if he read this.


Romeo was a bit annoying to be honest. Haha! And I felt that the brief sex scenes (though few and far in between) weren’t really all the necessary and didn’t HAVE to be included or detailed but that’s just my opinion. But I really liked how the characters were developed for the readers. We see some interesting sides to them all. I loved the inclusion of characters from other plays!


I definitely recommend this if you’re a Shakespeare fan. Especially if you like Romeo and Juliet. I know I’ll probably be rereading this one!


4.5 stars!


<3
Pixie

[silvercyclops · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive and way too long for how little story there was. Romeo was a petulant man child and Juliet had zero backbone. All other characters served as plot devices more than people. I feel like I have so much more to say but I'm just so glad to be done this book. I was considering a two star because of the Valentine cameo but not even my favorite guy could make this awful book better.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF'd this around chapter 5. I couldn't get into it. The characters were just immature, unbelievable and quite frankly, boring. Nothing happened. We walked, we had a closed door sex scene, we whined at one another, Romeo told her to chill, she ignored him, ad nauseum.

[Avry15 · Rating 5 out of 5]

originally appeared on:Bookshelf Confessions

“So if anyone should think of Romeo and Juliet, think not of 2 love-sick children bent on destruction, think of 2 people who fought and learned and loved and grew, as real people do.”
-Juliet Montague, Diary

I’m a lover of history, especially when it’s mixed with Romance, who wouldn’t?

Escape from Verona by David Gray is a result of the author’s labor of love for many years. Along with his on research, Father Grigio’s 1700th research and Juliet Montague’s long lost diary, a wonderful book of the real story behind the ever-famous “Romeo and Juliet”.

I was overly excited and awed when the book arrived safely in my hands. I suddenly felt unworthy of having the opportunity and to give my opinion of something that intrigues literature and history and possibly the oldest and most-cherished of all love stories.

The book is fairly written, with enough explanations on some terminologies, which the reader might find difficult to comprehend. Maps were provided to better understand the story at that time and traced their journey. Also, there’s a distinction between Juliet’s diary and the Friar’s work.

To tell you from my heart, after reading the first pages, I think this might be a fraud. How could a reality as far as it goes, be fairytale-like, the plot seemed to have steamed up from an author’s mind and the fate they faced an dhow each time, they dodged doom, are beyond my understanding.

But because certain facts are given and that Capulet and Montague seemed to be like real people, and even the persons involved in this story are based on facts, so I guess this might be authentic. You know the feeling one gets, when you believe in something and then someone presented the facts that it’s not what it seems?, that’s how I feel right now ..:D..Guess, just really stubborn.

So, if you’re a Romeo and Juliet fan of just any hopeless romantic, and want to know what happened, if this is true or not, or reading my endless self-debate, then grab this book to dive into a world of love, romance, deceit, power, honor, friendship and history!

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can see my full review here: Thoughts Of An Endless Dreamer

First off I’d like to thank Smith Publicity and Netgalley for the opportunity to read Escape From Verona.

A good friend of mine recommended this book to me while she was reading it, so I went to check out the synopsis. I’m a huge Shakespeare geek so anything that has to do with him or his work interests me, so needless to say I was immediately intrigued by this book. Romeo and Juilet is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays so I was really anxious to see how this story would turn out, and I have to say that I was amazed by this.

From the amount of rich detail in this story you can easily see that the author really took their time and did their research. The story flowed smoothly and was so well crafted that at times I almost forgot that this wasn’t how the original story played out. The events that happen after the couple faked their suicides and are on the run had me captivated to the very end. You can really feel the suspense and heartbreak that the couple experiences as you’re drawn into the story.

I thought the development of the characters was very well done. The author showed a new side to each of the characters so as the reader you get to know them in a different way, and I think that added some extra depth to the story. Now I admit that there were times when Romeo came off as slightly annoying, but I was able to over look that little issue because I was enjoying the story so much. I also thought that it was really neat that there were characters from other Shakespeare plays included in this book.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you love Shakespeare! I’ll be re-reading this again for sure!

4.5 Stars!

<3
Taylor

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite Shakespearean plays is "Romeo & Juliet". David Gray's novel offers a possible alternate ending to the play which exposes the young lover's deathes as yet another ruse to avoid persecution from their feuding families. However, things go awry, and the two find themselves on the run as a corrupt government official sees their escape from Verona as a way to elevate his standing in Verona's political arena.
The first half of the novel lacked any real detail about life in Italy (or at least what is now Italy) during the middle of the 16th century. Instead it followed Romeo & Juliet through a number of barely believable cat & mouse scenes with the primary antagonist, Ugo. It really wasn't until the couple reached Venice that the story picked up, in both tone and pace, and I found myself becoming interested in what happened to the two lovers. I also liked how Gray introduced us to many of Shakespeare's other famous characters (Portia, Othello, Shylock) but few of them, except Othello, played any major role in saving Romeo & Juliet from destiny's desired fate. Gray also incorporated many real life artists and politicians from the day, which certainly made the book seem based in reality than fiction, but again, many of those real people did little to propel the story along, and Gray seems to have taken some liberties with the facts about their lives. For example, he says that the painter, Titian, is 92 years old in the book, but the real life artist lived to be no more than 88 years old. Little details like that bother me a bit. I am a bit anal like that. Sorry.
A clever way, nonetheless, to continue the story, but I like tragedy, and as far as I am concerned, Romeo & Juliet never left the Capulet's tomb alive.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that had great potential, but that didn't quite live up to my expectations.

The idea behind the story (Romeo and Juliet surviving and attempting to escape together) was what enticed me to request this book from NetGalley. The hint at the inclusion of other Shakespearean characters and historical figures was also a big draw.

Sadly, I found myself reading the book with very little enthusiasm. Juliet came across as too experienced for me, and I found some of her actions completely unbelievable. Meanwhile, Romeo spent most of the book sulking and telling Juliet her ideas were worthless. Many of the events and actions seemed far-fetched and the dialogue was stilted and dull.

The reason this book got three stars and not two, was that the inclusion of the characters from other plays into the plot worked well and I consider that element of the book to be fairly enjoyable. But even so, I found myself constantly glancing at the screen to see how many pages I still had left before I could start something else.

I'm sure this book will appeal to plenty of people; but it just didn't suit my tastes. I would recommend this book to those who like the play and are not looking for anything more than an amusing adventure story in this sequel.

I received this book as a free e-book ARC from NetGalley.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from First Reads. Upon receiving the book, I noticed a small caption after the title "Part II." I immeadiately looked it up and discovered there is no "Part 1" by David Gray, rather he appeared to be referring to this as a fictional sequel to the original "Romeo and Juliet."

This story picks up where R&J left off. We learn that neither of them died, but instead both were drugged into a deep sleep. There are fights which end in a few murders and Juliet being acused of being a witch. There starts the pursuit. It takes awhile to get into the story because Romeo starts out by being very indecisive, yet macho. However, once the story gets rolling there is a lot of suspense and adventure, as well as a fair amount of history involving Venice vs. Rome and Christians vs. Jews vs. Muslims.

R&J rub elbows with the likes of many Renaissance artists-- El Greco, Palladio, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. There are vivid descriptions of the geography and architecture of Venice. It was also nice to have some characters of previous Shakespearean plays as a part of the story--Petruchio, Shylock, Desdemona and Othello.

Definitely a book with a little something for everyone to like!

[Emilee]

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. The beginning was strong, especially the part about how Romeo and Juliet faked their suicides and escaped from Verona. After they escaped, though, the story quickly become extremely repetitive. Romeo and Juliet run...almost get caught...run again...almost get caught again...etc...

Additionally, the narrative makes use of notes to explain certain details, but rather than including them as footnotes or endnotes, they're right in the story like this:

"But the Signory was not the only body to receive this letter. There was a scribe who worked in the archive of the Savii de Terra Firma* [The government committee responsible for mainland affairs] who had been instructed to look for word about a dead friar in Verona."

I found that to be rather distracting, and it pulled me out of the story at times.

Overall, I thought this book had a really interesting concept (after all, R&J sequels aren't all that common), but unfortunately, it wasn't executed well.

[Hbanlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really kills me to put only 2 stars. It kills me because i'm a "romeo & Juliet" obsessive lover and I will read ANYTHING that touch that play. And I will usually love it ("Such Sweet Sorrow" by Jenny Trout being a fine example). Now I really wanted to live this book, I had such grand expectations... The main story is boring: they run, they escape, they run again. I read that most people were annoyed by Romeo's behaviour, it was quite the contrary for me: Juliet got on my nerves like crazy, being a whiny little girl who refused to understand the reality, who was extremely judgmental and feeble in her affections toward Romeo. While we see Romeo saying his love for her each occasion he has, Juliet just nod and wonder if she really loves him during the WHOLE book. But not all was void, the last part of the book was actually a good one, and I especially liked the Othello's impersonator! Now I think that the author mainly wanted to show his Shakespearian knowledge as well as Renaissance Venice and that shows. Unfortunately it makes a quite boring story to read.

[Ellen Ekstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, a novel based on my favorite legend disappoints. "Escape from Verona" has a wonderful premise, but from the beginning it annoyed. The banter, make that bickering, between Romeo and Juliet got on my nerves. A lot of whining - and, they sounded like "Twilight" rejects. A villain named Ugo gets thrown into the mix, and it just seemed like a bad TV movie. I didn't like the back story of what was going on in Verona after the disappearance of the couple and the truth is discovered - written in italics. I also didn't like the explanation of volcabulary and buildings in brackets. A glossary at the back would have sufficed. Finally, if this is supposed to be a YA title, I would recommend 'Saving Juliet' instead - the humor and banter in that story comes across as real. Oh well. On to the next R&J book...

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I think most people will. The plot is filled with action which keeps the pages turning. If taken on it's own I think it's quite enjoyable. The world has texture, and he works in persons of interest rather easily. As for a sequal to Romeo & Juliet I'm not so sure. I think the author wanted to save himself the trouble of defining his characters - or he hopes to appeal to a larger demographic by using the"sequel" claim. I feel it was unnecessary, and was what I disliked most about the book. Why would anyone believe they truly died when half of the town meets up with them again here and there? I wish it had been writen as a stand alone book, or a sequal to a David Gray original story.

[Lauren Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Shakespeare and so I was excited when I stumbled across this book. I went ahead and gave it four stars because it was one that kept me turning pages to find out what would happen next. As far as "sequel" goes, the characters of Romeo and Juliet are not quite themselves as Juliet is quite a bit more mature than she really should have been and Romeo is a prideful and irritable hot head but as its own separate story it isn't completely terrible. If one is looking for a sequel to Romeo and Juliet, I would suggest Still Star-Crossed and this perhaps just as hypothetical reading with a new take on some classic characters. As always though, if you are interested in this book it is best that you give it a shot and see how it fits your taste.

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it very hard to get into this book. The idea for this book really interested me, Romeo and Juliet's tale is undoubtedly the greatest love story of all time, so I couldn't wait to hear this exciting tale. It didn't live up to my expectations, lacking in the romance that Shakespeare first created. The characters of Romeo and of Juliet are nothing like the Romeo and Juliet we know and love, and it didn't even come across that the were in love with each other.The book was very well written even if the storyline wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure many people will enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me unfortunately.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing story of Romeo and Juliet! It was so captivating that I didn't want to put the book down. The story was very entertaining and put a different twist to the classic. I would definately recommend this book. It is a beautiful story of love and happily ever after. The writing is great, it makes you feel like you are on this great adventure with Romeo and Juliet. You feel the suspense and heart break that they experience all the while holding out hope that there will be a happy ending for all.

[Monica]

Okay, so I won this book in the goodreads giveaway (yay!)...
And I cant wait to start reading this it seems interesting, Especially since I grew up in Italy and i remember visiting Verona numerous times with my family and on field trips I was always fascinated with Romeo and Juliet I can remember being 9 and looking at her balcony and thinking she must have been beautiful and then I was 10 when I went to her tomb and i was in such awe by everything I saw.
With that said I really look forward to reading this book and reviewing!
Thanks for the opportunity!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story held my interest from start to finish. I thought the author did a credible job of portraying what could have happened if Romeo & Juliet had survived. The consequences of their actions and the effect on their families made it a interesting read. The author populated the story with many Shakespeare characters and real people from the time period, which added more interest. I thought the ending lagged and was a bit far-fetched but this was still a satisfying story.

[Chris Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway. There is a lot of action and other Shakespeare characters are included which I thought was pretty clever. The author also shows Juliet recognizing another side to Romeo and no longer seeing him through rose-colored glasses which was somewhat amusing. I didn't enjoy the book as much as I expected/wanted.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. A little slow at first but became very fun to read. Really cool how other Shakespeare characters are weaved in. Loved to think about how Romeo and Juliet were able to escape and live out their days together. The story shows how they grew together and made their marriage stronger.

[Bella Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was boring and slow. I expected it to be better. I found Juliet rather naive, she thought she could be different from the other women but unfortunatelly for her Romeo was a man of his time, she was always complaining and she was living in her own imaginery world; she thought they could go back home. She really pissed me off.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

**NOTE I won this book in the Goodreads Firstreads Give-a-way**
I enjoyed this book. I loved that they made it through and was able to start a life together BUT there was a little more violence that i cared for but all in all I Liked it :)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this quote sums up nicely: "Forgive me, we have had some trouble on our travels," said Romeo. (p.355)
Yes, they had quite a few troubles on their travels! I enjoyed seeing some of my old favorites from Shakespeare plays. Othello was hands down my favorite.

[Niamh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, as a sequel to the very famous story of Romeo & Juliet. I have given up after a few chapters as the writing is poor and the story extremely weak which is really disappointing. Definitely one to avoid I'm afraid.