William Shakespeare

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This article is associated with Into the Gauntlet.

History[]

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time. Yet Shakespeare wasn't a member of the Janus, though some of the Cahills thought he was. He was the grandson of Madeleine Cahill and became a powerful Madrigal agent.

Non-Cahill scholars have always been puzzled by Shakespeare's "lost years," the period of his life when he seems to vanish from all records. But the Madrigals know the truth. Shakespeare was off looking for the other branches' Clues. After he married Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare abandoned the hunt and devoted himself back to his art--but his writing was always inspired by his heartbreak over the Cahill rift.

Shakespeare wrote a lot about family feuds, from Romeo and Juliet to King Lear. Other plays deal with bloodthirsty leaders such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth. However, while Shakespeare feared the consequences of the Clue hunt, he still hoped for peace. He even secretly penned a play about the reunion of the Cahill family--Love's Labour's Won. While Shakespeare wrote about such serious issues, he also had a genius for comedy and a flair for insults. It takes a true master of the English language to invent zingers like "thou lump of foul deformity." Shakespeare also hid several Clues in his plays. The actual number is one of the last remaining Madrigal secrets, but quite a few have been uncovered, including Clover, Bone, Lily, Rosemary, and Blood.

Plot Overview[]

The Maze of Bones[]

In this book, his name makes a small appearance when Amy, Dan, and Alistair search for Richard Saunders in Grace's secret library. They searched from Shakespeare to Bruce Springsteen.

Into the Gauntlet[]

He is mentioned throughout the book.

Plays and Poems/Sonnets[]

In his life, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, and 160 poems and sonnets (197 all together). Known to the world, that is. But the Cahills know he secretly wrote a play about reuniting the Cahills: Love's Labour Won. One of his most famous plays is Romeo and Juliet.

Trivia[]

In The Black Book of Buried Secrets, it says that Thyme is also a Clue, while it does not show this on the website. Some people have speculated that by Thyme, they meant it as a name for another Clue, such as one of the plants like Wormwood or Rosemary.

In book 10, Into the Gauntlet it is mentioned he had a daughter. Although unnamed in the book this was probably Susanna or Judith. Historically, he had 7 siblings, 2 of which had offspring. William himself had 3 children and 6 grandchildren, and 4 nephews and 1 niece. This would have started the Madrigal generations off quite well.