King of Shadows
core novel 1999 King of Shadows
Record
| First published | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.69 (3,772 ratings, collected 2026-09-28) |
| Page count | 186 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780689828171 |
Synopsis
Nat Field, an orphan from North Carolina whose short life has been shadowed by loss, finds his only escape in acting. When a celebrated director picks him for an all-boy American company travelling to London to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream at the newly rebuilt Globe, he is thrilled. But as rehearsals begin in the reconstructed theatre, strange echoes of the past creep in, and one night Nat goes to bed feverishly ill. He wakes healthy, but in 1599, at the original Globe, where everyone takes him for Nathan Field, a boy player lent by St. Paul's school to play Puck opposite William Shakespeare's Oberon in a performance the Queen herself may attend. In the warm, quick-witted Shakespeare, who has lately lost his own son, Nat finds the father figure missing from his life; back in 1999, a boy called Nathan Field lies in a hospital with bubonic plague.
Where it sits
- Universe: King of Shadows
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Susan Cooper
Awards (verified)
- Carnegie Medal, 2000: finalist; Shortlisted (the medal for books published in 1999).
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 2000: finalist; Shortlisted.
Notes
- Timeslip fantasy between the reconstructed Globe of 1999 and Shakespeare's Globe of 1599. A separate world from The Dark Is Rising; no shared setting or characters.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/susan-cooper/king-of-shadows/
- https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/King-of-Shadows/Susan-Cooper/9780689844454
- Google Books (publisher description)
← King of Shadows dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.