THE PLOT TO KILL A QUEEN

At the behest of Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster, a young musician turns secret agent to infiltrate the household of Mary, Queen of Scots.

It’s 1582, and 13-year-old Emilia Bassano has been dispatched by her guardian, Sir Francis Walsingham, from bustling London to dreary Sheffield Castle, the residence of exiled Queen Mary. Emilia’s purpose is to verify rumors of yet another scheme to assassinate Elizabeth. Emilia (a historical figure, like most of the cast) smartly carries her mission out to a successful conclusion with a clever closing twist. That fictive storyline is more like the main event on a crowded bill, though, with Hopkinson pausing frequently to include infodumps about Elizabethan life and theater, slip in numerous period portraits and images, and have her characters make pointed observations about how only white male actors are allowed on stage and how unfair it is that women can’t write books or plays or receive proper educations. Meanwhile, in her spare time, Emilia writes a one-act play that revises the old tale of King Alfred and the cakes, giving his future warrior queen daughter, Aethelflaed, a starring role—which is appended in full and preceded by extensive production notes and a general performance license to encourage young thespians. That all of this hangs together nicely is a real tribute to the veteran author’s skill, not to mention her chops as a researcher.

A fully packed feminist treat.