This novel tells the stories of Melina Green and Emilia Bassano, two distant relatives who lived centuries apart, but share a common experience. Emilia is a talented playwright, but limited by her 1581 era, where women had no rights. Still eager to share her creativity with the world, she devises a plan to bring her works to life — by paying an actor, William Shakespeare, to front her work. In the present day, Melina, who is also a young playwright, has completed a story based on Emilia’s life, but as the theater world is still a difficult place to make it as a woman, she assumes her work will never be performed. That’s until her best friend submits the play under a male pseudonym. By Any Other Name (Random House Publishing Group) tells the story of two women determined to overcome the obstacles in their way.
