Ever since I read ‘Pirates’, I have been a big fan of Celia Rees and like all her novels, ‘The Fool’s girl’ did not disappoint. Set in Shakespearean England, the plot is devised from the famous play of Twelfth Night and centres around Violetta, an exiled Duchessa who is on a mission to restore her country to its former glory and claim back her title as ruler of Illyria. Along with her trusted fool Feste she forms a plan to steal back the holy-relic that was plundered from her city, but to pull it off she must enlist the help of the playwright Will (Shakespeare) and his band of actors. Yet despite Will’s reluctance to help, their lives become tangled together and Violetta finds herself in the centre of a web danger, romance, political plots and religious conspiracies…

I must admit that it took me awhile to get into this book, mainly as the timeline within the story shifts back and forth from present to past, flipping from one characters perspective to the other. However once you settle into the rhythm you will soon find yourself captivated, swept up into a story of intrigue and power.

As usual, Celia Rees paints the time period beautifully, with vivid imagery and easily flowing prose that, at times, is as educational as it is beautiful. Not only does she give the reader a breath-taking glimpse into the past, but adds elements of old magic into the mix that somehow, still manages to keep the story within the realm of possibility – one of the reasons I love her work so much. Even though ‘The Fool’s Girl’ is a work of fiction, it is easy to imagine it being a true tale. It is most definitely an interesting and entertaining read.

Therefore with its depth and attention to detail, I would recommend this book to all fans of historical fiction. However I will also add that although I thought this book was a great read, it was not an easy one. A reader must be prepared to commit to this story as it can be quite confusing at times but I believe it is worth the effort. 3 ½ stars!