Preview of The Shakespeare Stealer Summary:

Widge's quest to steal Hamlet is not a simple one. The indentured orphan, who can write a secret code as fast as a man can speak, must attend a performance and write down the complete play so that his master's troupe of actors can perform the new play.

If he succeeds, he will be rewarded handsomely, but failure would bring the threat of death. His master's servant, Falconer, who accompanies Widge to London, has already killed one man for merely calling him a name; surely he would not hesitate to kill a lowly apprentice.

Widge watches the play and writes the dialogue in the code, but when a pickpocket lifts his secret scribblings, Widge decides he must steal the play book from the Globe Theatre. Caught inside, he pretends that he wants to be an actor and is taken in by the troupe. Widge has never belonged to...