Thank you to my friends and family for their unfailing support. My mum and dad continue to be the model for proud, supportive parents and I would be lost without them. When this book comes out it will be only a couple of weeks before I gain a new sister, and I couldn’t be happier that my little brother found his person. I love you both! Special thanks have to go to Mary Addyman, who brings joy and laughter and cake into my life whenever I need it most. Biggest, best thanks of all to Paul. This book is special for lots of reasons, but partly because Much Ado was something we had in common from the beginning. This one is yours, because I really do love nothing in the world so well as you.

And finally, thank you very, very much to my (future) close personal friends, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. When I was sixteen I watched your adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing and it opened up a completely new world. You made Shakespeare come alive for me and in doing that you changed my life.

About the Author

Laura Wood is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing. She has a PhD from the University of Warwick studying the figure of the reader in nineteenth century literature. She is also the author of the A Sky Painted Gold, Vote for Effie and the Poppy Pym series.

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