By Any Other Name - Jodi Picoult

By Any Other Name is a #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Jodi Picoult, published by Penguin Random House (Ballantine Books) on August 20, 2024. The hardcover edition runs 544 pages.

This sweeping dual-timeline story follows two women centuries apart, both forced to hide their creative work behind another name. In 1581, Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats whose sharp wit and storytelling gifts are suppressed by the era's rigid expectations of women. Determined to bring her own play to the stage, she strikes a secret arrangement with an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work. In the present day, playwright Melina Green — a descendant of Emilia — faces her own version of the same struggle in a theater world still tilted against women. When her best friend submits Melina's new play to a festival under a male pseudonym, both timelines converge into a bold exploration of ambition, authorship, and the price of creative courage.

Rooted in primary historical research and drawing on the real historical figure of Emilia Bassano, the novel asks whether a writer should do whatever it takes to see her story live on. Praised by Kristin Hannah, Jojo Moyes, and critics at People, The Washington Post, and Elle, By Any Other Name is a rich work of literary and historical fiction ideal for book clubs.