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The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines
Book by Crowley, John
- GenresFictionShakespeare
93 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
John Crowley
127 books849 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John Crowley was born in Presque Isle, Maine, in 1942; his father was then an officer in the US Army Air Corps. He grew up in Vermont, northeastern Kentucky and (for the longest stretch) Indiana, where he went to high school and college. He moved to New York City after college to make movies, and did find work in documentary films, an occupation he still pursues. He published his first novel (The Deep) in 1975, and his 15th volume of fiction (Endless Things) in 2007. Since 1993 he has taught creative writing at Yale University. In 1992 he received the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
His first published novels were science fiction: The Deep (1975) and Beasts (1976). Engine Summer (1979) was nominated for the 1980 American Book Award; it appears in David Pringle’s 100 Best Science Fiction Novels.
In 1981 came Little, Big, which Ursula Le Guin described as a book that “all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy.”
In 1980 Crowley embarked on an ambitious four-volume novel, Ægypt, comprising The Solitudes (originally published as Ægypt), Love & Sleep, Dæmonomania, and Endless Things, published in May 2007. This series and Little, Big were cited when Crowley received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature.
He is also the recipient of an Ingram Merrill Foundation grant. His recent novels are The Translator, recipient of the Premio Flaianno (Italy), and Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land, which contains an entire imaginary novel by the poet. A novella, The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines, appeared in 2002. A museum-quality 25th anniversary edition of Little, Big, featuring the art of Peter Milton and a critical introduction by Harold Bloom, is in preparation.
Note: The John Crowley who wrote Sans épines, la rose: Tony Blair, un modèle pour l'Europe? is a different author with the same name. (website)
John Crowley was born in Presque Isle, Maine, in 1942; his father was then an officer in the US Army Air Corps. He grew up in Vermont, northeastern Kentucky and (for the longest stretch) Indiana, where he went to high school and college. He moved to New York City after college to make movies, and did find work in documentary films, an occupation he still pursues. He published his first novel (The Deep) in 1975, and his 15th volume of fiction (Endless Things) in 2007. Since 1993 he has taught creative writing at Yale University. In 1992 he received the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
His first published novels were science fiction: The Deep (1975) and Beasts (1976). Engine Summer (1979) was nominated for the 1980 American Book Award; it appears in David Pringle’s 100 Best Science Fiction Novels.
In 1981 came Little, Big, which Ursula Le Guin described as a book that “all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy.”
In 1980 Crowley embarked on an ambitious four-volume novel, Ægypt, comprising The Solitudes (originally published as Ægypt), Love & Sleep, Dæmonomania, and Endless Things, published in May 2007. This series and Little, Big were cited when Crowley received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature.
He is also the recipient of an Ingram Merrill Foundation grant. His recent novels are The Translator, recipient of the Premio Flaianno (Italy), and Lord Byron’s Novel: The Evening Land, which contains an entire imaginary novel by the poet. A novella, The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines, appeared in 2002. A museum-quality 25th anniversary edition of Little, Big, featuring the art of Peter Milton and a critical introduction by Harold Bloom, is in preparation.
Note: The John Crowley who wrote Sans épines, la rose: Tony Blair, un modèle pour l'Europe? is a different author with the same name. (website)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 21, 2022
Bezaubernder Novellen-Essay über Shakespeare, das Leben und die Liebe.
April 6, 2019
Crowley-esque in the best ways possible... readers familiar with this author will love this short story/short-novella (yep, a short novella, which is a short short novel, i guess)... a beautifully written and emotionally strong tale... a little bit of history, a little bit of Shakespeare (surprise!), a great bit about a budget play, some not-too-mushy romance, and a touch or three of sadness... famously finished too (as in: great ending)...
November 8, 2013
Our unnamed narrator meets Harriet when both are students, helping to stage Henry V at a mid-west Shakespeare festival in the 1950s. He is intrigued by this self-proclaimed ‘free spirit’ and their relationship develops through a mutual interest in the theories about Shakespeare’s identity. He tells the tale from a later time, when their paths cross again in 1980.
It’s a puzzling piece. On the face of it, there is no reason for this novella to reside in Gollancz’s SF & fantasy range: nothing ‘impossible’ happens, and the only apparent contradiction with history is the moving of a real event by one month – which Crowley declares in an endnote. But why move it at all? Crowley is sometimes so fiendishly subtle that I wonder if I’ve missed something…
The title is also that of a mentioned real book, and perhaps hints at this quiet tale’s concern, which is less with Shakespeare than with a doomed and endless obsession about him – similar to the ill-starred obsession that the narrator has for Harriet. And is she – are any of us – truly free, or only shaken in the winds of history? It’s a graceful, moody piece, sunlit yet poignant, in which much more seems meant than is actually said. I feel a pull to reread this one sometime and look into all its corners. (But then that's true of all Crowley's writings.)
It’s a puzzling piece. On the face of it, there is no reason for this novella to reside in Gollancz’s SF & fantasy range: nothing ‘impossible’ happens, and the only apparent contradiction with history is the moving of a real event by one month – which Crowley declares in an endnote. But why move it at all? Crowley is sometimes so fiendishly subtle that I wonder if I’ve missed something…
The title is also that of a mentioned real book, and perhaps hints at this quiet tale’s concern, which is less with Shakespeare than with a doomed and endless obsession about him – similar to the ill-starred obsession that the narrator has for Harriet. And is she – are any of us – truly free, or only shaken in the winds of history? It’s a graceful, moody piece, sunlit yet poignant, in which much more seems meant than is actually said. I feel a pull to reread this one sometime and look into all its corners. (But then that's true of all Crowley's writings.)
October 17, 2015
I had actually read this earlier this year and only now remembered to put it in Goodreads.
The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines is a coming of age story with the backdrop of a summer camp centered around producing Shakespearean plays. The authorship of the plays is explored as is the concept of a "free spirit". As well crafted as these portions are, the novella gets its fifth star because of the interaction between Harriet and our main character decades after the events and the... tragedy... that put an end to them.
The end scene in particular is beautifully executed and completely devastating. So have a cat ready to cuddle or an anti-vaxxer nearby to punch, because you'll need it.
The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines is a coming of age story with the backdrop of a summer camp centered around producing Shakespearean plays. The authorship of the plays is explored as is the concept of a "free spirit". As well crafted as these portions are, the novella gets its fifth star because of the interaction between Harriet and our main character decades after the events and the... tragedy... that put an end to them.
The end scene in particular is beautifully executed and completely devastating. So have a cat ready to cuddle or an anti-vaxxer nearby to punch, because you'll need it.
September 29, 2007
I learned what it means to be "a free spirit", and about the sex lives of people with polio. Plus interesting details about acting camp.
July 9, 2015
I bought a lot of books a couple of weeks ago but I'm having trouble getting into any of them, instead I am revisiting short stories that I loved in teh past, such as this one, which I must have read at least five times by now.
I haven't read much by Crowly but this story and Snow (another short) have remained in my mind for years.
Basically, girlhood is about to Shakespeare-obsessed teenagers (male and female) who spend a life-changing summer working in the construction of a mock Elizabethan Teather in Indiana and on its first play. And when I say life-changing I mean in more ways than one.The teenagers will meet again as adults after many years apart.
There is something about girlhood that makes it feel almost magical although it is a thoroughly realistic story. Maybe it's the vivid description, the details, the obsession with Shakespeare of each and every one of the characters, an obsession that can sometimes lead to madness. Maybe is the concept of the "free spirit" and its various avatars through the ages, from some Shakespeare heroines to Delia Bacon to the teenages and the adult versions of Harriet.
I haven't read much by Crowly but this story and Snow (another short) have remained in my mind for years.
Basically, girlhood is about to Shakespeare-obsessed teenagers (male and female) who spend a life-changing summer working in the construction of a mock Elizabethan Teather in Indiana and on its first play. And when I say life-changing I mean in more ways than one.The teenagers will meet again as adults after many years apart.
There is something about girlhood that makes it feel almost magical although it is a thoroughly realistic story. Maybe it's the vivid description, the details, the obsession with Shakespeare of each and every one of the characters, an obsession that can sometimes lead to madness. Maybe is the concept of the "free spirit" and its various avatars through the ages, from some Shakespeare heroines to Delia Bacon to the teenages and the adult versions of Harriet.
November 13, 2007
Found a copy SIGNED AND NUMBERED on ebay...my nerdly little heart is rejoicing...can't waint to read it!
June 15, 2015
Devastatingly beautiful writing supports a small and mysterious story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews