King of Shadows

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King of Shadows is a children's book by Susan Cooper published in 1999 by Penguin. The book was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

It tells the story of a young American actor Nathan Field who goes back in time to Shakespearean England of 1599.

[edit] Plot

Nathan Field is playing Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream in the New Globe Theatre in London in 1999. He falls ill with mild flu and goes to bed. When he wakes up he is in 1599 in Master Burbage’s house, near the original Globe Theatre. He finds that he has changed places with the Shakespearean actor Nathaniel Field who is also playing Puck, and Oberon is being played by William Shakespeare himself.

Awe-struck Nathan has many adventures in 1599, living in Shakespeare’s house with Mistress Fawcett, and saving the life of Roper, another actor, with the Heimlich Manoeuvre.

Nathaniel has the plague but thanks to his time travel is given antibiotics and recovers, and is then returned to 1599 and exchanges with Nathan. Shakespeare is saved from catching the plague from Nathaniel before writing most of his plays. Nathan researches his namesake and discovers that Nathaniel outlived Shakespeare and inherited his share of the The King's Men, Shakespeare's playing company.