The Boy Who Became Queen

Take a trip back to Elizabethan times with this illustrated story about a young actor in Shakespeare’s London.

The story tells the tale of how Jack, a young starving orphan boy, is snatched after singing in the street one day near London bridge and his life is changed forever. He’s taken by men from Blackfriars Company who upon hearing his beautiful singing voice want him to be part of their troupe. Think Oliver Twist working as part of Fagin’s gang, but with less criminal intent.

His new situation finds him performing at the court of Elizabeth I and being talent-spotted by none other than William Shakespeare. The playwright approaches him and invites him to work in his theatre with the hopes of one day having him play a role in his latest play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

We follow the journey of Jack from theatre assistant where he does everything from mending the actor’s clothes and props to creating sound effects. After a time, he graduates to work on the stage and eventually to centre stage as Titania.

The story itself is informative whilst still having a level of peril and intrigue. It would be great to support the study of the period, Shakespeare and theatre of the period. It could also have uses in terms of discussions and comparisons of gender and performance in the present and the past.

The illustrations are stunning, if you’re familiar with Balit’s previous works such as The Corinthian Girl (Otter-Barry Books) and Escape from Pompeii (Frances Lincoln) – this will come as no surprise.