Romeo and Juliet and Todd and Alice: A Novel

by Thomas P. Hanna

High school students Todd and Alice time travel back in time using a time machine invented by Todd’s missing uncle to try to save Romeo and Juliet from rash and untimely death without messing up history in the process. The pair must depend on their wits, Mr. Shakespeare’s version of history, and a few modern devices to convince the people of Thirteenth Century Verona to reconsider their attitudes and actions. They must deal with parents, politics, technological and cultural differences in the process. All of the characters in Verona are those of Shakespeare and when appropriate they speak his words but we also learn some of what they said and plotted that he failed to record. Among those things we learn that Tybalt was a peeper; Prince Escalus had a scheme to seize the lands of the Capulets and Montagues to end their constant squabbles; and Juliet’s suitor Count Paris was a good if slightly pompous fellow who took control of the city when the Prince was persuaded to retire when his land grab was exposed by Todd and Alice and a small voice recorder. Romeo and Juliet make a brief visit to the present from the top of a smoldering pyre while being burned as witches, with their confused families cheering that idea until their sole heirs are standing up there with the strangers who say they’re from the future.

246 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Thomas P. Hanna has taught biology at the high school and undergraduate levels on both coasts. He currently lives in Philadelphia, where he was born and raised.