Newsletters

Edition

International .(Open in new tab)

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Journalism of Courage

Premium

7 Shakespeare-inspired books you won’t be able to put down

Four centuries on, his influence echoes through not only stage and screen, but also in the pages of novels that reimagine, reinterpret, or pay homage to his timeless works.

Said to have died on the same date in 1616 as Miguel de Cervantes, the Bard of Avon remains the most enduring literary figures of all time. (Source: Amazon)

Each year, April 23 marks a literary trifecta: UNESCO’s World Book Day, the UN’s English Language Day, and — most famously — the birthday and death day of William Shakespeare. Said to have died on the same date in 1616 as Miguel de Cervantes, the Bard of Avon remains the most enduring literary figures of all time.

Shakespeare is also famous for being a linguistic innovator whose pen, apart from bringing us numerous unforgettable characters, also invented phrases which have now become common parlance such as ‘catch a cold’ (Cymbeline), ‘break the ice’ (The Taming of the Shrew), ‘in a pickle’ (The Tempest), ‘wild-goose chase’ (Romeo and Juliet), ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ (Othello), ‘what’s done is done’ (Macbeth) ‘the be-all and end-all’ (Macbeth), ‘too much of a good thing’ (As You Like It) and ‘it’s Greek to me’ (Julius Caesar) to just name a few!

Four centuries on, his influence echoes through not only stage and screen, but also in the pages of novels that reimagine, reinterpret, or pay homage to his timeless works. In celebration of the Bard’s legacy, here are 10 novels inspired by Shakespeare that are perfect companions for his special day.

Story continues below this ad

world book day, William Shakespeare, Hamnet

Source: Amazon

📌 Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

The eponymous novel, Hamnet (Headline Publishing Group), is inspired by the son of the playwright, who died at the young age of 11 in 1596. In this award-winning novel, Shakespeare remains nameless — but unmistakable — as O’Farrell focuses instead on the loss of his son, Hamnet. Set amid the bubonic plague, the story navigates a family’s grief and a playwright’s transformation of sorrow into artistic legacy, ultimately giving rise to Hamlet.

📚 Inspired by: Hamlet

world book day, William Shakespeare, Vinegar girl

Source: Amazon

📌 Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

The Pulitzer Prize winning author breathes new life, while lending a modern sensibility to one of Shakespeare’s most debated comedies. Vinegar Girl (Random House’s Hogarth Shakespeare project) is a witty retelling of The Taming of the Shrew —where the protagonist, Kate Battista, is a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough. Battista is blunt, brilliant, and not interested in marriage — until her eccentric father ropes her into a scheme to save his lab assistant from deportation.

📚 Inspired by: The Taming of the Shrew

world book day, William Shakespeare, Hag-seed

Source: Amazon

📌 Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

In this Shakespearean revenge story – published underRandom House’s Hogarth Shakespeare project– Felix, a theatre director, is ousted from his theater company, after he is betrayed by a colleague. Exiled from society, he lands a job teaching in a prison literary programme. While directing The Tempest inside a prison, art imitates life, and vengeance plays out with cathartic precision.

📚 Inspired by: The Tempest

world book day, William Shakespeare, We that are young

Source: Amazon

📌 We That Are Young by Preti Taneja

“We that are young, shall never see so much, nor live so long.”

Story continues below this ad

The Shakespearean saga – published by Galley Beggar Press – unfolds in modern India. In this reimagining of King Lear, three sisters wrestle with inheritance, betrayal, and patriarchal power. Taneja’s narrative blends corporate intrigue with cultural critique in an engrossing novel.

📚 Inspired by: King Lear

world book day, William Shakespeare, The king of infinite space

Source: Amazon

📌 The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye

A philosophical noir riff on Hamlet set in modern-day Manhattan, the novel published by GP Putnam’s Sons, is a queer, and feminist take on Hamlet featuring a neuro-atypical physicist who probes his father’s suspicious death. Faye weaves a mystery that blends love, madness, and familial dysfunction into a contemporary tragedy.

📚 Inspired by: Hamlet

world book day, William Shakespeare, lady macbeth

Source: Amazon

📌 Lady Macbeth: A Novel by Ava Reid

“Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
The novel, published by Random Penguin House, is a dark, witchy, and gothic reclamation of Shakespeare’s most infamous villainess. Lady Macbeth gives voice to the woman behind the ambition — a young bride armed with dangerous magic, navigating a brutal marriage and a treacherous court.

📚 Inspired by: Macbeth

world book day, William Shakespeare, Macbeth Jo Nesbo

Source: Amazon

📌 Macbeth by Jo Nesbø

This is The Scots Play, reimagined as a gritty crime thriller as part of Random House’s “Hogarth Shakespeare” project. Nesbø brings his signature Scandi-noir style to Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and madness, set in a decaying city rife with corruption, drugs, and deceit..

📚 Inspired by: Macbeth

Aishwarya Khosla

Aishwarya Khosla is a journalist currently serving as Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express. Her writings examine the interplay of culture, identity, and politics. She began her career at the Hindustan Times, where she covered books, theatre, culture, and the Punjabi diaspora. Her editorial expertise spans the Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab and Online desks. She was the recipient of the The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections, where she studied political campaigns, policy research, political strategy and communications for a year. She pens The Indian Express newsletter, Meanwhile, Back Home. Write to her at aishwaryakhosla.ak@gmail.com or aishwarya.khosla@indianexpress.com. You can follow her on Instagram: @ink_and_ideology, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya. ... Read More

The accused, Sahdevsinh Deepubha Gohil, a multipurpose health worker (MPH) posted at the Mata-na-Madh Primary Health Centre, was arrested for allegedly transmitting sensitive photographs and videos

Health worker in Gujarat arrested for ‘spying’ for Pakistan intelligence

Cities2 hr ago

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old health worker from the border district of Kutch, alleging his involvement in espionage activities on behalf of a Pakistani intelligence officer. The case marks the third such arrest from Gujarat for alleged spying in the past eight months.

View all shorts

Live Blog