Summer Reading Summaries (Shakespeare's Stealer)

Summer Reading!

Book: Shakespeare’s Stealer

Author: Gary Blackwood

Main Idea:

The story opens in a local orphanage in London. Where a child is adopted by a wealthy family. While in the car, the child is stolen a old man who sells him to a known man. 15 years later that same baby (now named Widge) lives his life with his mentor. He is taught a special language called: Charactery. Which is used to steal other preachers’ sermons. When he masters Charactery his mentor gives a mission. Steal the  play Hamlet from William Shakespeare before it’s first presentations in the Globe Theatre in London. When he is intergraded with the cast of the play he makes great friends, now more important than his mission. The question is: will he obey his mentor, or leave him for his friends in the cast? 

Plot Summary:

Exposition: A young baby initially adopted by a wealthy family is stolen and sold to a play pledger in London. He raises him as his son and names him Widge. Throughout his life he has been taught a language that people like him to use symbols and Giberish type words to copy other preachers’ sermons. His master gives him a really difficult mission which is to go to The Globe Theatre and use his abilities in Charactery to copy William Shakespeare’s play; Hamlet. Widge has always been curious about his past. He has been asking questions to himself and his mentor all his life. Where does he come from? Who were his real parents? 

If he succeeds in his mission; his mentor promises that he will answer all his questions about his past plus a additional reward. There’s been a lot of rumor that the additional price is the one thing that every human being wishes for. He goes to The Globe and start his difficult and long task. 

Rising Actions:

1. Widge enters The Globe. While in the rehearsals and starts copying down every single part of each sentence said by the actors. He has an advantage; he can write as fast as a notary court member, including the translation of the words in english to Charactery. 

1. After some days of hard work, the security guards in the theatre notice that he is taken notes of the play; which is forbidden. He is kicked out of the theatre. He was completely devastated convinced that he was going to be killed. While at the entrance, he sees all the actors entering the back part and he decides to bump in. 

1. He bumps in into the cast pretending to be an actor in the play. It's a easier way to copy down the play. He makes a lot of friends; which are the ones that tell him that he cannot take things like writing utensils to the set. Widge doesn’t know what to do. He reports to Falconer (personal assistant of his mentor). He says he has only one thing left to do... Steal the actual script itself before opening night. 

1. James wa one of his friends in the cast. James catches him re-reading the notes he did before being kicked out of the theatre. Quickly hiding it, he pretends to just be drawing. James remains curious. Days and days pass all them with tiring rehearsals James still suspects of Widge. He reports him to Shakespeare and he is called to his office. Terrified, he burned his notebook with all the writing to prevent to be kicked out of the play. Shakespeare welcomes him to the office and makes him sit down. They talked about what james was telling him; since William had no evidence he couldn’t do anything. Widge starts to befriend Mr. Shakespeare to get a small push towards stealing the play script. He leaves the office and goes to bed, with his next day all planed from scratch. 

1. Widge then returns to Shakespeare office after breakfast to “have a talk”. He (as the day before) welcomes him again. This time he actually sees the scroll in his desk. He couldn’t believe it! Talking about the architecture of the theatre and why did Mr. Shakespeare liked it to do his plays, Widge carefully looks where did he puts the scroll. At the end of the conversation, he opens a drawer in his desk and puts the script there. Locked with a key that we wears in his neck. Widge leaves the office and another idea pops into his head. He goes to his friend Cynthia, a contortionist. 

6. Cynthia and Widge have talk. He says he will give a portion of his price to her if she brings the key of the drawer where the scroll is kept. That same night; she goes to his tower and breaks into his room. Her contortionist skills allowed her to enter the room quietly and steal the key from his nightstand and leaving a carved piece of metal made by one of the actors (looked just like the key) instead of the original one. Cynthia brings the key to him and Widge said he will wait until the perfect time to steal the scroll. More days of rehearsal; Mr. Shakespeare takes him to a quiet place in the theatre and congratulates him for his acting and speaking skills, he was convinced he had noticed that he had stolen his key. Sighing away he goes to his room. It was decided, he was going to steal the scroll the next day.

Climax: Opening night, Shakespeare used the scroll all day, Widge waited until he puts it back on the drawer, going up his tower now destined to steal the scroll; Shakespeare and a bunch of men were walking down the same stairs. Terrified, he says that he was going the wrong way but Shakespeare tells him that these men were there for him. These men where the executives of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (a very important group of actors around England. The offer him the job in the society. Shakespeare tells him to consider the offer. He goes back to Falconer and he tells him the offer. He thinks its great but he convincing him to steal the play. Widge considers it and goes back to the theatre.

Falling Action: The house was full! Every single seat of The Globe was occupied, everything sold out. He goes to the tower, opens the drawer, takes the scroll and goes running out. James and Cynthia see him run and tells him to stop but he doesn’t stop, crying he arrived to his house where his mentor and Falconer where waiting for him. He gives him the scroll. Falconer opens it and hugs him the takes him to his mentor, while he was alone: he flew away again, taking a part of his personal things and went back to the theatre. When Falconer came out there’s was nobody there. A conversation between the mentor and Falconer revealed that he was never going to answer any questions nor giving him anything in return of the scroll. 

Resolution: When he returns to the theatre he throws the key in a dark place and goes backstage. The play didn’t start. There was a complete drama as of the whereabouts of the scroll. He stood up in a stool and said that they didn’t need the scroll, that they knew the play themselves. Everybody agrees and goes out for the opening. Shakespeare at the end hugs Widge saying he made the play perfect even though the scroll went missing (Shakespeare never knew what he did). He goes to the executives of Lord Chamberlain’s Men and accepts the offer and becomes a professional actor, fleeing away from the horrible life that he had with his entire and Falconer to go follow an opportunity of a life time. The End

Character List

Widge: A 15 year old adopted kid which has been raised by his mentor which he was soled to by a child kidnapper when he was being adopted by a wealthy family in London. His cunning attitude fools everybody, he has a great abilities to persuade and to befriend. At the beginning of the story his attitude was very calm because he had many issues and doubts about his past. Throughout the story  his attitude enforces itself each time even more. 

James: One member of the Hamlet cast. 21 years old. He was the character of Hamlet. A very nice guy, despite the fact that his character in the play makes him a little weird, he could be the most mature and intelligent actor in the entire cast. About mid-story he betrays Widge accusing him of copying down the play, he goes and tells Mr. Shakespeare. 

William Shakespeare: The most important writer in the english language. In the story he just finished one of his most important plays; Hamlet. Widge is sent to steal this script. a really strict person in rehearsals but a really nice and charming man outside work hours. His eloquent use of english made it difficult to communicate with other young actors (like Widge). 

Cynthia: A actress/contortionist which made a few dance and acting numbers on the play. A really beautiful girl. Widge was really attracted to her. This is why he asked her to steal the key from William. Later, he convinces the LCM to take cynthia with them for her reward that he himself promised. 

“Mentor”: The name of this character is never given or specified in the story. Widge and Falconer just named him by “my honorable mentor”. He is an obsessive old man, absolutley crazy to steal one of Shakespeare’s plays and present it as his own desperate to gain prestige in the society and be famous. 

Falconer: He is a 34 year old man that works for Mentor and he is the one who monitors everything that Widge did while he stayed in The Globe. Widge needed to consult everything with him for the mission to go according to plan. Really ugly physically and a really bad person in attitude. Widge hates his ways of solving things. 

LCM: Lord Chamberlain’s Men; A group of professional actors all around England who pick up talented youngsters to join the organization. 

Connections

When I was reading this book, I made many connections in each chapter. Here are 5 main connections that I made during the story:

• In the first paragraphs of the story Widge was just asking questions about his life. I made a connection of a movie I saw called: “Meet the Robinson” in which this kid wanted to figure out every thing about his life with a memory scanner. I related these two because the questions they asked themselves where really, really similar. Even though in the book he didn’t find out anything about his past. Wilbur (in the movie) did. 

•When Cynthia was stealing the key from Shakespeare’s nightstand. In a TV series called: “House of Anubis” in one episode they were trying to steal a key to go to the upper part of the main house, where the potion room was located. In the end, both if them steal the key and uses it for their own interests

•In the one of the last chapters of the book when he was offered to join to Lord Chamberlain’s Men, this reminded me of may movies for example: “Devil Wears Prada” where at the end of the movie she is offered the job of the magazine editor. In the end both take these lifetime opportunities. 

•James betraying his friend, the same happened in a movie I saw a long time ago about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict about two friends (one jew and one muslim) that the one from Israel betrayed his best friend by informing his whereabouts to the Israeli military forces. 

• Last but not least; one of the most important parts of the book. When Mentor and Falconer first give the details of the theft of the Hamlet scroll. This remimded me of Avatar the movie when the guy blends in into the “indigenous community” and makes friends. girlfriend, etc. And then when like the human forces come and destroy the tree it relates to the part of the theft. When he makes it right returning to the theatre and performing is when the guy makes it right and fights back the humans.  

”The Acting Thieve”

The reason I would choose this alternative title because Widge in the story pretends to be an actor (in the end he becomes one) and apart of that he is in a mission in which he needs to steal something from William Shakespeare.