Shakespeare in Virginia

In February 1616, William Shakespeare finds himself on the brink of financial ruin and trapped in an unhappy marriage. Desperate for a way out, he agrees to resume his clandestine work for the English secret service. His mission: to report on the Virginia Company and their activities in the Virginia Colony. To maintain his cover, Shakespeare must fake his own death and assume a new identity.

As he embarks on this dangerous journey, Shakespeare befriends John Rolfe and his wife Matoaka (Pocahontas), who are visiting England. The couple provides invaluable insights into Virginia, Powhatan society, and the complex situation unfolding in the Colony. Following Mataoka’s tragic death, Shakespeare accompanies Rolfe to Virginia, taking on the guise of a tobacco planter.

In this new world, Shakespeare must navigate the treacherous waters between the avaricious English colonists and the hostile, embittered Powhatans. Can his experience as a renowned actor and playwright help him survive and thrive in the Colony? And how will the most famous life in history come to an end?

John Leonard was born in the UK and moved to Australia in 1991. He has worked in higher education, conservation and government, but his main vocation has been poetry, and he has had five collections published over 30 years. His poetry deals mainly with the ongoing worldwide ecological crisis, the causes for it, and possible paths out. He is a keen birdwatcher and student of nature.

He and his wife live in Canberra and they have two adult sons and two grandchildren. Shakespeare in Virginia is his first published novel.