History Literature / RuledBritannia

* AccentDepundent: The guy who runs his mouth about the play confuses people because he refers to the Queen as a "bawd with three debauched daughters", and Shakespeare quickly figures out he’s talking about his secret play. This isn’t so obvious to modern readers, for whom "bawd" (rhyming with "broad") and the first syllable of "Boudicca" (rhyming with "mood") sound nothing alike.

A novel by Creator/HarryTurtledove set in an AlternateUniverse where the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSpanishWar15851604 Spanish Armada]] conquered England. Ten years later, Shakespeare is writing plays under the Spanish occupiers, but is simultaneously contracted by both them and the English resistance to write plays to either commemorate the dying King Philip or inspire rebellion against him. In the end he chooses the latter, and his play ''Boudicca'' sparks a revolution. Published under the slogan "To be free, or not to be free?"

* DesecratingTheDead: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], Lope de Vega did not harm Alejandro de Recalde's body after he was dead, but the wounds and killing stroke were so vicious that multiple people can't help but comment on how brutally de Vega cut him up.

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The English conspiracy performs many underhanded acts to further their goals, including several instances of out-and-out murder. When Richard Burbage asks Shakespeare if this is really the side he is choosing to ally with, [[ArmorPiercingResponse Shakespeare asks if the Spaniards they're fighting against are any better]].

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Cicily Sellis is a "cunning woman" who shares Shakespeare's boarding house, and Shakespeare spends the entire novel debating with himself whether she is a witch or not. She does perform acts that could be construed as prophecy or mind control, but which may also simply be theatrics and the vagaries of human perception.

** Nicholas Skeres and Ingram Frizer are two of the men alleged to be involved in the death of Chirstopher Marlowe, with Frizer himself said to be the one to stab Marlowe. In the novel they serve as lackeys and henchmen in the English plot, [[spoiler:and Frizer is present when de Vega kills Marlowe, with dialogue indicating that he was there to kill Marlowe himself.]]

* DesecratingTheDead: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], Lope de Vega stopped fighting as soon as Alejandro de Recalde was dead, but the wounds and killing stroke were so vicious (and visible on his face) that multiple people can't help but comment on how brutally de Vega cut him up.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Shakespeare admits that, if given a choice, he probably would choose to follow the Roman Catholic faith of Spain as opposed to the Protestant teachings of England, but he refuses to let that be forced onto the country at gunpoint by the Spaniards. Thus, he helps launch the rebellion that topples the government of Queen Isabella and frees the imprisoned Queen Elizabeth, even if that means he will need to become a Protestant again, because at least then it would be England's choice in the matter.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: Lieutenant de Vega is constantly threatening his lazy servant with reassignment to Scotland until he gets some better blackmail.

* TogetherInDeath: Very oddly, mortal enemies King Philip and William Cecil are both dying of natural causes throughout the majority of the story. Cecil refers them as racing each other to the grave, and knows that neither of them will live to see the English rebellion.

* ReallyFondOfSleeping: Diego, the only servant of the Lope de Vega, finds every excuse to sleep that he can. de Vega once quipped that the only thing which could make Diego happier would be if he learned how to make love while still asleep.

* ShowWithinAShow: In addition to the real-life plays attributed to Shakespeare, Marlowe, de Vega, and others, there are several wholly fictional plays that exist due to the altered timeline. Marlowe is credited with several plays that were written after the time of his real-life death, and the novel follows the writing of two new Shakespeae plays, ''Boudicca'' and ''King Philip.''

* GoldDigger: Catalina Ibanez's interest in Lope de Vega waxes and wanes according to his wealth, along with how she judges his prospects to gain wealth in the future.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: The main goal of the rebellion is to overthrow the Spanish-backed rule of Queen Isabella and King Albert, and restore Queen Elizabeth to the throne. The simultaneous overthrow of the Catholic Church and resumption of Protestant worship is secondary goal.

* SherlockCanRead: After introducing himself to Cicily Sellis on the street, de Vega is astonished -- and instantly thinks she may be a witch -- when she recognizes him as a friend of Shakespeare. She instead points out that she lives in the same building as he does, and Shakespeare has frequently mentioned de Vega when talking about his work.
* VolleyingInsults: Round and round and round again between Shakespeare, Burbage, and Kemp.

* AmbiguouslyGay : There are rumors that the Spanish garrison commander and his handsome manservant are in a relationship, and they do seem to be close. The commander seems homophobic, but could just be engaging in ArmoredClosetGay misdirection. On the other hand, the rumors could be mere MaliciousSlander against a genuine HeteronormativeCrusader.

* EnemyMine: Shakespeare spends a lot of the novel unclear on who is REALLY working for whom, and who he can really trust.
* FriendlyEnemy: De Vega ingratiates himself to the players. He and Shakespeare are also [[WorthyOpponent Worthy Opponents]].
* GratuitousIambicPentameter: Not only in the quoted plays, but as much spoken dialogue is sneakily cribbed quotes from other plays and poems, so people regularly talk to each other in Iambic Pentameter. Shakespeare, Burbage, and Marlowe regularly [[LampshadeHanging hang lampshades]] on this. There's some TruthInTelevision here; one reason for the success of iambic pentameter in its day was that it resembled the rhythms of ordinary speech.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Used frequently in the Turtledove works. Here it is the English resisting the Spanish.

* ReallyFondOfSleeping: Diego, the only servant of the Spanish playwright and soldier Lope, finds every excuse to sleep that he can, and seems to consider it his primary hobby

* ShakespeareInFiction: Our protagonist.
%%* VitriolicBestBuds: Burbage and Kemp.

%%* HotWitch: Cicelly Sellis.

%%* TheQuisling: Loaded with 'em, some {{HistoricalDomainCharacter}}s.

A novel by Creator/HarryTurtledove set in an AlternateUniverse where the Spanish Armada conquered England. Ten years later, Shakespeare is writing plays under the Spanish occupiers, but is simultaneously contracted by both them and the English resistance to write plays to either commemorate the dying King Philip or inspire rebellion against him. In the end he chooses the latter, and his play ''Boudicca'' sparks a revolution. Published under the slogan "To be free, or not to be free?"

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