Chapter 19 Summary

Arby gives Nat a copy of Shakepeare's Sonnets and a copy of The Tempest. Nat returns to rehearsal, and that night sleeps very soundly. At breakfast the following morning, Nat and Aunt Jen agree to talk about Nat's father more openly. At breakfast, Nat also discovers that Arby's full name is Richard Babage.

After breakfast, Nat reports to the theatre for final preparations before the first performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Arby is in a particularly irritable mood, and Nat loses his temper, challenging Arby's authority. Arby dismisses the rest of the actors and orders Nat to speak with him privately. Arby explains to Nat that Time does not always travel in a straight line. Arby tells Nat that since the replica of the Globe was opened, it was his job to find a Nat Field whose personal suffering was strong enough...