Boy, by Nicole Galland

Joan Buckler and Sander Cooke have been friends ever since they were children. Both of them are unusual. Joan is a gifted natural philosopher (scientist) who has been lucky enough to find mentors willing to teach a girl. Sander is famous for playing female roles in the prestigious acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. But as Sander approaches the end of his apprenticeship and the end of when he can credibly play women and Joan starts working with the polymath Sir Francis Bacon¹, their dynamic shifts. Boy, by Nicole Galland, tells their story (with hints of Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice, among other works by Shakespeare) of love, betrayal, loyalty, and ambition.

While Joan and Sander are both clearly cisgender, their biological sexes present challenges. If Joan had not been born a girl, it would be so much easier for her to attend school, find employment with other natural philosophers (early modern scientists), and not have to deal with the constricting expectations society has for girls. Sander, because he is aging out of being able to credibly play Shakespeare’s young heroines, doesn’t know what he will do with himself when his apprenticeship ends. He doesn’t have the physicality (or the opportunity) to jump into male roles. Also, Sander has found it much easier to make his way in the world by enticing women and gay or bisexual men for money and favors. A bit of luck introduces Sander and Joan to powerful men who might be able to help them find a good living. Sander’s acting talent catches the interest of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, who is desperate to get back into Queen Elizabeth’s good graces. Joan, meanwhile, impresses Sir Francis Bacon after an otherwise disastrous meeting, with Sander’s assistance.

Even as Sander and Joan’s paths start to pull them in different directions, they discover a shared passion. No one else knows Joan the way Sander does, and vice versa. Both of them inhabit a gap in society because neither of them is willing or able to be conventional. So while Joan helps Bacon with his experiments with temperature and Sander tries to find a patron who will pay him enough to support himself and a wife, they continue to meet at the Globe Theatre. Patronage plays a huge role in both of their lives and, over the course of the novel, both are forced to wonder if they’ve found the right person to pin their hopes on. Bacon is fussy and humorless, constantly worried about staying on the Queen’s good side. The charming Robert Devereux is less concerned with propriety and the way things are done. Devereux is determined to win back the Queen’s favor by whatever scheme or strategem possible, dragging Sander along with him.

Readers who are familiar with Shakespeare’s plays will spot the references to the plays as Joan and Sander constantly cross-dress, pass messages, and get involved in subplots. (Shakespeare himself doesn’t really show up in this book but John Heminges frequently appears. Richard Burbage has cameo appearances.) Galland even organizes the book in five acts. While I could see some of the references coming (I grinned when I recognized Joan’s gambit at the conclusion of the book), I was on tenterhooks waiting for the novel to reveal itself as a comedy or a tragedy. Would our protagonists get married? Or would everyone end up dead? Either conclusion is possible until the very end. Boy is a marvelous tale, beautifully written, that hit me right in the heart. I loved every word.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

1. Sir Francis Bacon has one of the most ludicrous death stories I’ve ever heard. Bacon died of pneumonia that he may have contracted after experimenting with frozen chicken. ↩︎