Matthew Jackson

Historical novels that use real people, eras and achievements as a springboard can sometimes become overworked lessons of the history on which they’re treading. Other times, they can be inspired, original works that remind us of both the importance of history and the timeless concerns of our own humanity. Thankfully, The Architect’s Apprentice is the latter.

Set in a glorious age for the Ottoman Empire, Elif Shafak’s latest novel spans decades and follows the interwoven lives of the still-admired chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, Jahan, the Indian boy who would become his apprentice, and Chota, Jahan’s beloved white elephant who becomes part of the Sultan’s menagerie. Together, they are destined for greatness, and the construction of some of the most beautiful Ottoman structures in history. But their intertwined lives will also breed envy, tragedy, lies and countless surprises, as Jahan grows into a man headed for a destiny he might never have imagined.

Right away, Shafak’s prose delivers such a clear sense of place and time that you feel immersed in this lush segment of history in a warm and intriguing way. There’s a sense of magic to the way her words move from page to page, but also a sense of practicality, like an architect imagining every brick in a palace. Some novelists see their world so clearly that they can weave a sense of comfort, a sense that you’re in good hands, around the reader from page one, and Shafak is one such writer.

The Architect’s Apprentice succeeds because of that sense of being in good hands, but also because of Shafak’s passionate, far-reaching contemplations layered within the story. More than anything perhaps, this novel is a story of love, of finding it, losing it and feeling how it can twist and mold you into something else, even if that’s not for the better. It’s a powerful, dazzling novel, rooted in history but also in a sense of eternal human considerations, and it’s another triumph for Shafak.

It’s always thrilling when a new novelist marches into familiar territory and delivers something refreshingly different. In this case, Andrea Chapin presents a story of William Shakespeare, a woman every bit his equal, and the relationship that inspires some of his best work. If you think you know this tale already, The Tutor will prove you wrong in wonderful ways.

In the year 1590, 31-year-old widow Katharine de L’Isle is living on her uncle’s estate in Lancashire, where the family secretly practices Catholicism amid Queen Elizabeth’s rampant persecution of their faith. Katharine is resigned to a quiet life populated by her extended family and the books her uncle taught her to love from an early age. Then a new schoolmaster arrives: William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is not yet the literary titan he will grow to be, nor is he yet the toast of the London theatre scene, but there’s already a boldness to him that’s at first off-putting to Katharine. As the two grow closer, though, they find an intellectual kinship which blossoms into something much more passionate.

Chapin spent years researching this novel, but she never lets her knowledge of Shakespeare or Elizabethan England overwhelm the story. Instead, her research infuses the book with the kind of detail that makes it feel warm, lived-in and real.

Perhaps more importantly, though, she writes Shakespeare not like a god among men, but like a human. He feels real in ways other fictional depictions of him never have, and a big reason why is Chapin’s creation of Katharine. She’s Shakespeare’s intellectual and emotional equal, and she’s not simply swept off her feet by him. In many ways, she’s the dominant character, and that’s both refreshing and entertaining.

The Tutor is a rich, beautifully constructed debut novel that will captivate readers of historical fiction and romance alike, and even the most devoted of Shakespeare fans will be thrilled by this new look at The Bard.