Hamlet, the Danish prince, is brooding in the wake of his father’s death. His mother barely waited for the king to go cold before marrying Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, and their perfidious union is driving Hamlet mad. Not even the arresting Ophelia can console him. The new regime simmers until the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father visits the young prince, calling on him to avenge his death. Then we watch the kingdom unravel. Marsden’s bold and playful novel beautifully captures the teasing innuendo, the restlessness and the maddening frustration of the classic tale.

Staying close to Shakespeare’s play, Marsden only detours to condense the plot in parts, make a playful nod to the Bard or delve further into these intriguing characters. We find Hamlet is his ever-hesitant self, but Ophelia is hungry for sexual discovery, and Horatio quite adores the beautiful young prince. Although we sometimes feel at risk of slipping into the modern day, Marsden breathes new life into the characters of this accessible read and will thus be forever loved by high-school students everywhere.