title: Dark Aemilia: A Novel of Shakespeare's Dark Lady
author: Sally O'Reilly
description: OReillys American debut is an imaginative take on the life of poet Aemilia Layner, a contemporary of William Shakespeare. OReilly posits a lifelong love between the striking Aemilia and the famous bard, a relationship that inspired some of Shakespeares more passionate sonnets. Aemilia meets Will in 1592, when she is the mistress of the much older but kindly Lord Hunsdon. Taken by her beauty and wit, Will pursues her, and the two begin an affair that lasts until Aemilia becomes pregnant. Hunsdon thinks the child is his and arranges for her to marry her charming but feckless cousin Alonso. Will is devastated, but when he walks in on his patron, Wriothesley, raping Aemilia, he misinterprets the situation and believes she has been unfaithful to him. They part ways bitterly, but as the years go on, their paths cross again repeatedly, igniting the ever-present spark between them. Though some of OReillys suppositions feel like reachesparticularly Aemilias involvement with Macbeththis is a lively, vividly rendered novel about the dramatic life of an extraordinary woman. --Kristine Huntley
zlib_text: #  _Shakespeare’s Dark Lady_
  
  _The Lost Story of Aemilia Bassano Lanyer_  
    
  
  Sally O’Reilly
  
  
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  use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way.
  **Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this
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  # Table of Contents
  
  [Cover](Image00004.jpg)
  
  [Title Page](text00001.html)
  
  [Copyright Notice](text00001.html)
  
  [DRAMATIS PERSONAE](text00003.html)
  
  [PROLOGUE](text00004.html)
  
  [ACT I, SCENE I](text00005.html)
  
  [THE “DARK LADY” SONNETS](text00006.html)
  
  [EVES APOLOGIE](text00007.html)
  
  [HISTORICAL NOTE](text00008.html)
  
  [BACKGROUND EVENTS](text00009.html)
  
  [A Note About the Author](text00010.html)
  
  [Copyright](text00012.html)
  
  
  # DRAMATIS PERSONAE
  
  AEMILIA BASSANO, later LANYER, a Lady, Poet and Whore
  
  WILLIAM SHAK