5 Books Like By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult has given her unique take on the question of “who was Shakespeare”. The story is shaped by two female authors in two different timelines who find themselves creatively and economically constrained by the prevailing patriarchy. They each don a male pen name and begin to hone their craft. And even though there five centuries between the timelines, each character faces similar difficulties as they struggle to be heard.

Picoult managed to bring her trademark sentimental women’s fiction to the story, adding in themes of female agency and an LGBTQ angle. This book is full of the “what-ifs”.

So if you you’re a fan of By Any Other Name…and you want more of it, you’ve come to the right place. The following books like By Any Other Name will help you fill out your TBR list with some related reads.

If you’ve read this book for your reading group, be sure to use our discussion guide for By Any Other Name.

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5 Books to Read if You Loved By Any Other Name

The Other Einstein, Marie Benedict

This novel follows the life of Mileva Maric, wife of Albert Einstein, who is a lesser known but important physicist. She and Albert were partners in love and in work, but theirs was a difficult relationship. The Other Einstein explores many themes, including: female empowerment in patriarchal society and the role of women in science.

Benedict excels at featuring fictionalized stories of women who waded into traditionally male professions. So, you could explore her whole backlist. I’ve also got book club guides her novels The Personal Librarian and The First Ladies. Each of those guides has a non-spoiler synopsis at the top of the article.

The Weight of Ink, Rachel Kadish

A story about a Jewish immigrant in 1660’s London who was permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi even though it was something that women didn’t do in that time period. The Weight of Ink follows themes of female scholarship, class structure, religious belief, and Jewish history.

The book also offers a dual-timeline element featuring an modern day historian who comes across this treasure trove of transcripts and wants to explore them before a devastating illness catches up with her.

The Tower, Flora Carr

This pick is for fans of By Any Other Name’s deep dive into historical figures. It doesn’t reimagine Shakespeare, rather it reimagines Mary, Queen of Scots.

A retelling of Mary, Queen of Scots imprisonment during Elizabeth’s reign. She is forced to relinquish her claim and then she and her companions plan a daring escape. The Tower explores themes, including: female agency and resilience in the face of patriarchal oppression, complexities of power dynamics, and the power of female friendship.

Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell

But, if you want more Shakespeare, I’ve got a recommendation for that as well.

O’Farrell’s novel imagines Shakespeare’s family life, in particular his eccentric wife Agnes and his young son Hamnet. She’s a strong force for Shakespeare’s career, which is just taking off when Hamnet succumbs to a sudden fever. The book carries themes of love, loss, fraught family dynamics and making the hard trade-off between family and personal fulfillment.

The book’s transcendent qualities and prose, along with a rich imagining of Shakespeare’s family life are what will give you such a good Hamnet book club discussion. Here’s our guide for Hamnet.

Yellowface, R.F. Kuang

This next pick is a bit of a sideways choice, but hang with me. It’s not historical, it doesn’t have a dual timeline and it’s not a battle against patriarchy. But, like By Any Other Name, it does deeply explore the notion of authorship.

This Reese’s book club pick is a doosie. At the surface, Yellowface tracks the passive aggressive “friendship” of Athena and June, two authors in the publishing industry with very different levels of success. Athena has received her big break while June has remained a struggling author. When Athena dies, June steals one of her manuscripts and passes it off as her own.

This book is a very pointed satire on the publishing industry’s performative efforts at diversity, the ground war regarding owned voices vs cultural appropriation, and the commodification of book publishing. Kuang has spared no one.

Here’s our Yellowface book club guide.