What do you get if you combine the film Shakespeare in Love with Oliver Twist? The Lost Years of William Shakespeare is a lively series chronicling the early career of the playwright, who mixed with important personages and made good friends among his fellow players. IN THE COMPANY OF KNAVES is the third installment. I missed seeing our hero previously attending a nobleman’s son in Italy, but this might have inspired his Italian plays. Another actor talks about his trip to the cold castle in Elsinore, Denmark. We can see where that one is going.

As one of the players of Lord Strange’s Men, Master Will is early in his career, but not that young. He sends money regularly to his wife and three children. People did marry early in those days. We meet Will in London, treading the boards at inns for want of one of the play-houses. Other acting companies have the rights to those. During the winter of 1589, Will was handed the start of a manuscript for a Roman tragedy, Titus Andronicus, and given leave to finish it. A keen worker, because plays were sold for good money, he is partway through when the company is shut down by official order and shortly after, the box of plays is stolen.

A thief called Edward ‘Cutting’ Ball, his scruffy and violent henchmen and many people in inns are thus part of the picture, as Will asks after the box – which was stolen from his rooms. Without the play scripts, the actors can’t perform. We also meet a young woman called Emma Ball, the thief’s sister, who is surprisingly literate, and various respectable tradespersons. Of course, no book on Shakespeare would be complete without the dashing Christopher Marlowe, who steals many scenes. Sadly, there is no Queen Elizabeth, maybe in the next book.  

Anthony R. Wildman, an English author, has researched thoroughly as to locations and figures. I have to say that this pre-Great Fire London is the real star of the show. As to the plays, my personal feeling is that a minute spent with Titus is a minute too long, but we are shown why it was a crowd-pleaser and how staging like the presence or absence of a balcony made a difference. I look forward to more happy entertainment in the books to follow IN THE COMPANY OF KNAVES. Meanwhile, I shall just have to find What News On The Rialto and after that, The Queen’s Player.