It is commonly accepted that there are two sides to every story, but in fact there are as many interpretations of any given event as there are people involved.

Even a classic story, something that everybody knows nearly by heart, has room to be explored.

That certainly proved to be the case for Oregon-based novelist Lois Leveen, whose latest book, her second novel “Juliet’s Nurse,” explores the life and trials of one of the most intriguing — if often overlooked — characters in Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.”

And if you think there’s nothing left to say about the literary staple that hasn’t already been said a dozen times, you haven’t met Juliet’s nurse.

She is a mother mourning the recent death of her day-old infant when she enters the household of the powerful Cappelletti family to become the wet nurse to their newborn baby, the beautiful Juliet.

As she serves her beloved surrogate daughter over the next 14 years, the nurse learns the Cappellettis’ darkest secrets. Those secrets, and the nurse’s own deep personal grief, eventually erupt across five infamous days of love and loss that destroy a daughter, and a family.

Though casual readers may have forgotten about the nurse character, Leveen said that she — along with the quick-witted bad boy Mercutio — have long been considered by scholars and actors to be by far the most interesting characters in the play. It was this interest in the character and her briefly hinted at backstory, that set the author previously known for her historically based fiction, into the world of Shakespeare’s Verona.

“The title came to me first,” Leveen said. “I was struggling with a different book and, like many people, I had read the play in high school and not since.”

Approaching the story as an adult, and without being forced to by a teacher, Leveen said she found the story very different from the one she remembered, and one character in particular captured her interest.

“Juliet speaks more of her lines to the nurse than to Romeo,” Leveen laughed. “She was this very intriguing character. People tend to think of her as a comic character, which to a certain extent she is, but she is also very tragic.”

The novel is set 10 years after the historical outbreak of the plague in Verona and 14 years before the events in the original play.

Leveen, whose first love has always been research, said she took great pains to ensure the story is historically accurate — including referencing art and architectural history books and even traveling to Verona.

“That’s what I love about the kind of writing that I get to do,” she said. “The research and discovery is a big part of the work.”

For cautious readers who may not have spent any time with the Bard since study hall, Leveen is quick to offer reassurance. You don’t need to be an English Literature major to understand this book.

“I wrote it assuming most readers may just remember, ‘Oh, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ unhappy ending in that one, right?’” she laughed.

Also, since the book takes place before the play, Leveen was able to feature cameo appearances by many of the original story’s most famous characters including Rosaline, Romeo’s original love, Tybalt, cousin and best friend of Juliet and even Mercutio.

“I get to go back and make it more emotional and character-based,” she said. “You get to see the other characters grow up. You get to see [Mercutio] becoming the bad boy he will eventually be.”

And, of course, you get to see the nurse raise, love and protect Juliet, all the while knowing how the unfortunate story ultimately plays out.

“I care a lot about the emotional lives of my characters,” Leveen said.

“When the title came to me, I wondered if somebody else had already made it,” she explained. “It surprised me that nobody had done it.”

Re-imagining one of the most well-known and beloved stories of all time would seem to be a daunting task, but Leveen said she rushed excitedly into the project without giving herself time to worry.

“Maybe if I had thought about it more I would have gotten too intimidated,” she remembered. “Every time somebody does a Shakespeare play, even if it’s a fairly straight-up interpretation, it’s always an interpretation. One of my hopes is that it’s going to get people to go back and read, or at least watch, the play with more interest and enthusiasm.”

Writing an original work based on one of her favorite literary works, Leveen explained, allowed her the pleasure of immersing herself in a world that has always fascinated her.

“Writing is miserable, lonely work,” she laughed. “When you go back to a well-known version of literature, it lets you bring some of the pleasure of reading into the process of writing.”

“Juliet’s Nurse” is available for preorder now, and will be officially released Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Leveen will visit Eagle Harbor Book Company in downtown Winslow at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 to read from, discuss and sign her newest book. It will be her first trip to Bainbridge Island.

Though willing to work in fiction again if a proper subject should arise, Leveen said her current work-in-progress was more like her first historical fiction novel “The Secrets of Mary Bowser.”

“I didn’t land on anything,” she said. “So, at this point, what I’m working on is also historical fiction, from a different time period, based on a real person.”

Revisit a classic

What: Oregon novelist Lois Leveen visits downtown Winslow.

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25.

Where: Eagle Harbor Book Company (157 Winslow Way E).

Admission: Free.