Shakespeare: The World as Stage - Bill Bryson
Very little is actually known about the Bard of Avon, which is about what we would expect since we know even less about Kit Marlowe or Ben Jonson. And if it weren’t for the First Folio we probably wouldn’t have the treasure trove of his plays either.
So Bill Bryson’s purpose in this slim biography for the general reader is to relate only the documented facts on the life of the writer. And the records have very little indeed. So little, in fact, that this book is more concerned with describing the historical, societal and cultural context in which Shakespeare evolved, while also relating much discussed theories on the life and work of the poet. There’s also a chapter on the flights of fancy that claim Shakespeare is not the author of his plays.
Do not be fooled by the apparent thinness of the book (about 200 pages), it has a lot of stimulating information. If you're interested in the Elizabethan era, the history of theater, and the development of the English language, this essay is sure to please you. If you are an expert in the Shakespearean field this essay will probably tell you little or nothing that you don't already know; but if you want to get a respectable acquaintance with the Bard without tackling academic tomes or essays such as “Exploring Misgendered Diagnoses Through the Lens of Coriolanus,” this is the book for you.
If this book sounds
a little thin, try The Lodger:
Shakespeare on Silver Street by Charles Nicholl.
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