What do readers think of Juliet's Nurse by Lois Leveen? Write your own review.

An immensely enjoyable, engaging backstory to R&J. Leveen has unfolded a masterful account of Angelica, revealing a take on the bawdy and likeable nurse's history, motivations, personality, and perspective on the 14 years leading up to the young lovers' end, all told in a compelling and entertaining narrative that is hard to put down. We learn of Angelica's tenacity through her virtue and humor. The author has aligned her tale well with events and characters in the original R&J, as well as historically accurate references to the time, adding so much more dimension to R&J, if that's possible (all due respects to The Bard). It is also a great reading in literary perspective and an in-depth character study, although as a teacher, I would hesitate assigning this to students younger than high school due to the many sexual references (which, if you know the nurse, cannot be left out of the story!). If you love Shakespeare (and R&J in particular), history, Renaissance period fiction, prequels, or just an all-out good story, I highly recommend this book!

And now for a completely different take on the Romeo and Juliet story! Author Lois Leveen tells this famous tale from the perspective of Juliet's nurse, who first came to Juliet as a wet-nurse when her own baby died at birth. While I did not especially like some of the characters as people, the historical background, word-painting, descriptions of the life and times is rich and excellent.

I had a vivid image of the times, especially the differences between the rich and the poor, attitudes of ownership and entitlement, lines that could and could not be crossed. There are plenty of turns and twists in this story and I did find myself saying "Just one more chapter" at odd hours of the night. My only 'complaint' is that while Ms. Leveen went with the Italian names of characters, (Cappeletti, Montecchi, etc.) she stayed with 'Juliet' rather than using the Italian "Guiletta." Small complaint, truly!

I enjoyed this all time favorite Shakespeare play from the viewpoint of Juliet's wet-nurse. She is a lower class woman who has lost 5 sons to the Black Plague when she gives birth to a daughter who she is told died shortly thereafter. She then is contracted to the Cappellittis to nurse Juliet. The story follows Shakespeare quite closely & explains the rivalries & intrigue in 14th century Verona.

Juliet's Nurse appealed to me as I am a new fan of historical fiction. The author notes that there are several "clues" in Romeo and Juliet that opened to possibility of the relationship between Juliet and her nurse. This book was well written and moved along nicely as we were introduced to the other players in Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for all fans of the Bard!

I loved this book for filling in the medical, social and life skills background of existing in Juliet's plague ridden Verona. Leveen's emphasis on loss and endurance is a concept many cannot embrace. Like Angelica, I lost a son (not six) and a merry man who was my husband. Pietro was a favorite character. The characters and their interactions held my attention but two of them were most disappointing. The duplicity of Friar Lorenzo was unexpected from a churchman. Worse yet, was Angelica's rhapsodizing over Juliet's imagined place in her life. So in the end, I was mostly unhappy with the backstory of Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet's Nurse was a very interesting book. It told the back story of Romeo and Juliet. The story line that most know even if you never read Romeo and Juliet. The story was pretty gruesome on details of medical issues, the history of illness along with the battle deaths through out the book. There were love stories through out the book in many ways through different relationships of different characters. There was the science of bee keeping that was very interesting. Overall, I really likes this book. It intrigued me to watch the latest movie 2013 of Romeo and Juliet. I would recommend this book to my book club.

Juliet's Nurse is a very enjoyable and creative read! Lois Leveen fills in the back story of Romeo and Juliet in an imaginative and easy to read story that makes it hard to put the book down. Anyone who like historical fiction will find this a delightful read!

We all read Romeo and Juliet in high school and may have enjoyed one or more of the movie versions of the tale. But little is known about the nurse, the third most important person in the play. Lois Leveen corrects this omission in her novel Juliet's Nurse. Combining the history of the Plague in Verona and the few details Shakespeare has given us, Leveen fleshes out the life of the nurse and all the other major characters and invents believable characters which involve the reader's interest and emotions. I loved this book and read it all in two sittings.