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Natasha Solomons is the author of five internationally bestselling novels, including Mr Rosenblum's List, The Novel in the Viola, which was chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club, and The Gallery of Vanished Husbands. Natasha lives in Dorset with her son, daughter and her husband, the children's author, David Solomons with whom she also writes screenplays. Her novels have been translated into 17 languages. When not writing in the studio, Natasha can usually be found in her garden.
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Was it daunting offering a new take on a story as well-known as Romeo and Juliet? What was most exciting about developing an alternate interpretation?
I was so daunted! It's one of Shakespeare's best loved plays and everyone knows the story even if they've never read it or seen it performed. Also, I took a firm, unequivocal stance on the play and the character of Romeo and I knew from the beginning that some people would really resist my interpretation. The more books I've written, however, the braver I've become. I'd prefer to write a novel that some people absolutely adore and feel really passionate about, than a safer story everyone likes. I've learned to be bold. There was only one moment when the thought of readers' reactions did wobble me, so I spoke to a good friend who's a well-known Shakespeare director. He told me to think like a director of a radical production, not like an author, and to imagine my book with its two covers like the wings of the stage: whatever happens on my page, as on the stage, belongs to me. This novel is my vision, my production. That's not to say that others can't exist too. That's the joy of Shakespeare—there are so many interpretations. We reinvent him for every age.
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