Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Aside from being an orphan, Nathan Fox is pretty content with his life. He still has his sister, he's the youngest actor in a theatre company in England, he's even making friends with the other actors. His favorite is Will. William Shakespeare that is. Will is a fellow actor who really wants to be a playwright. As soon as he has enough good stories, he'll write his first play. For now he's acting and observing, and Nathan is about to be a lot more help then he ever anticipated.

It's 1587 and England is very nearly at war. Their are enemies everywhere, and no heir to the throne as the queen refuses to marry. Sir Francis Walsingham is the Spymaster General for Queen Elizabeth I. These are dangerous times for England, and Sir Walsingham is recruiting. John Pearce, his best spy, is sure he has the perfect candidate for Sir Francis: Nathan Fox.

Much to Nathan's surprise, his acrobatic and acting talents could make him a great spy. Despite his sister's protests, and the obvious danger, Nathan agrees to join Pearce in Sir Francis' company of spies. First he must go train in the various forms of weaponry and defense. But not before agreeing to keep his eyes open and his memory sharp for stories to bring back to Will.

Training his hard. And scary. And only the beginning.

Such a fun story in its own right. Add in the entertainment from recognizing other characters and putting the whole thing together... It's amazing, surprising, remarkable - I can't find the right word to describe it! I've always liked Shakespeare, but sometimes I get the stories mixed up. I will never forget which one this is now. Perfect if you like Shakespeare. Even more perfect if you've never been able to get through the wording in an actual Shakespeare play. I can only hope that there are going to be more of these!

Go read it, you won't be sorry, and neither will your English teacher. ( )

14-year-old Nathan Fox is recruited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I's man, Sir Francis Walsingham to be a spy. His experience as an actor with Shakespeare makes him the perfect candidate. Action, adventure and danger abound as they cross the ocean to Crete, stopping to defeat the Turks in a naval battle along the way. ( )

Great adventure book set in Will Shakespeare's time, where a young actor is recruited to spy for England. He travels to France with another spy and encounters the adventures that parallel to the tale of Othello. Will definitely be reading the next one. ( )

Nathan Fox is a boy actor in a troop run by Burbage. He catches the eye of Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster, Walsingham and his chief spy, John Pearce. Nathan is agile, intelligent and fluent in a number of languages.
He is taken to learn combat techniques and cryptography. Nathan does well and in a short space of time, he is sent to Venice with John Pearce. Marie, Nathan’s sister also travels with them. They are to attempt to win the support of the Doge of Venice against the coming Spanish invasion.
John Pearce takes the name of Cassio and Marie, Bianca. In Venice, Nick becomes aware of street gangs, meets the leader of one (Mecutio) and has to disarm him in a fight. The group moves on to the island Cyprus, travelling with the great Venetian general Othello and his new wife Desdemona.
They are caught up in intrigue. There is a great battle scene and some other more personal conflicts.
When the trio make it back to England, Nathan tells stories of his adventures to his friend Will Shakespeare ( )

Eigentlich strebt der 13-jährige Jungschauspieler Nathan Fox eine Karriere auf den Bühnen Englands an. Doch als ihm Sir Francis Walsingham und der Agent John Pearce anbieten, im englischen Geheimdienst mitzuarbeiten, kann er nicht Nein sagen. Nathan soll zusammen mit Pearce nach Venedig reisen, um die Venezianer zu einer Allianz gegen Spanien zu bewegen. Doch in Venedig spitzt sich die Lage dramatisch zu, als Pearce, der sich als Michael Cassio ausgibt, an Stelle des rücksichtslosen Jago den berühmten General Othello nach Zypern begleiten soll. Allmählich findet Nathan Beweise für Jagos Racheplan, doch nützte ihm zunächst seine Stelle als Diener Othellos, an geheime Informationen zu kommen, schwebt er nun selbst in Lebensgefahr, als Othello zunehmend rasender Eifersucht verfällt... -