Have you ever heard the rumor that Shakespeare didn’t write his own plays? So had we, but By Any Other Name, the new novel by Jodi Picoult, may make the best case for it we have ever read. This novel puts forth a theory that Emilia Bassano wrote at least some of them, and she is an unforgettable character. This book succeeds on so many levels — a polemic, a great piece of feminist AND historical fiction, AND it’s a page turner. This is the book Jodi says she was born to write…and we think it’s her best to date.

Books mentioned in this week's episode:

• By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• Mermaid by Jodi Picoult
• Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
• Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
• The Pact by Jodi Picoult
• The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
• House Rules by Jodi Picoult
• Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
• Where There’s Smoke by Jodi Picoult
• Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult
• Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult
• A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
• The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
• Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
• Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
• Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
• Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
• Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
• Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
• Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
• Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

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