Little Bird is the first in a series of stories about a Tudor street urchin called Brat. After a chance meeting with the famous playwright, William Shakespeare on London Bridge, who is in the depths of despair at the loss of his son, Hamnet, the two embark on a path together. Brat finds himself becoming a cross between a servant, an apprentice and a replacement for the son William has so recently and tragically lost.
Tudor London life is seen through the eyes of Brat, who, having lived most of his life on the streets of the city, has no expectations but a constant fascination for everything going on around him.
While on an errand for his new master, Brat meets and speaks with Queen Elizabeth I, after falling out of the branches of a mulberry tree and landing at her feet. The Queen rewards her "little bird" with a shiny shilling "to feather his nest". Brat then rescues a small dog from almost certain death at an organized dog fight. He and the dog, whom he names Cobweb after an altercation with a spider, become the closest of companions and he shows signs of becoming the first true animal-rights supporter. Brat joins William Shakespeare on a river journey with the Lord Chamberlain's Men to Greenwich Palace where they perform a play for the Queen, in which Brat and Cobweb become inadvertently involved.
In the stories I have highlighted all quotes occurring in the dialogue between characters that appear in Shakespeare's plays and sonnets, and have created a glossary at the end of each story, indicating which Shakespearean character spoke the words and in which play, act and scene they can be found. Brat is an engaging personality with a social conscience - he thinks women should act their own parts on stage and that animal rights should be taken far more seriously!
