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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
For a man who wrote the most profound poetry, plays, introduced a few thousand new words and phrases to our everyday language, acted, directed and continues to dazzle the world, very little is actually known about him. So little in fact that dedicated researchers and academics have developed all sorts of theories and explanations for the life of Shakespeare. Even his name as we know it is recorded in numerous different ways, and there are six different signatures attributed to him. But are any of them really his? Bill Bryson in a book of less than 200 pages - he says it is so small because there is so little to put in it - looks at the mystery and enigma of William Shakespeare the man. His early life, his married life, his family, some years where he seemed to disappear from the face of the earth, where did his genius come from? And so on. Fascinating, intriguing, very easy to read. I would have loved to see pictures especially of how plays were staged during this time for example. There is a great chapter on the city of London during the 1600s and the wild popularity of theatres and staging of plays, where Shakespeare really came into his own. Bill Bryson has done a terrific job of making this read more like a conversation than a history lesson.
Entertaining and educational read. Bryson did a nice job pulling together an accurate view of the time period and drawing conclusions of Shakespeare's life based thereon. However, since he was writing this as part of an external series, it doesn't live up to the brilliance of many of Bryson's other works. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to learn about Shakespeare's life, something about which I know very little. Even more interesting to learn how very little the world at large actually knows about the man.
It was interesting. I like Bill Bryson's style. Some sections dragged on a bit, but on the whole, it was an enlightening read!
funny
informative
medium-paced
I suppose I keep reading books about Shakespeare because it is one of the ways I get to spend time with him, even though I don't learn anything new about him. What cracks me up about this book is that Bryson writes a number of times that very little is known about Shakespeare and much of what is claimed to be known is purely conjecture. Contradicting this, the publisher has written in the description on the back of the book that Bryson "reveals the man himself." Ha! Not even close.
This book is an interesting read that casual fans of Shakespeare will enjoy.
This book is an interesting read that casual fans of Shakespeare will enjoy.
I’m sure there are more thoroughly researched biographies and analyses of Shakespeare as Bryson just picked Shakespeare's name out of a list of potential biography subjects, but it’s the one I picked up after my tour of the Globe so here we are!
I know relatively little about Shakespeare but enjoyed this. It felt more of a kind of historiographical overview of Shakespeare’s life than a thorough A-Z of his life but that’s understandable as there’s just a lack of evidence to really achieve the latter which Bryson admits throughout. Nor is it a problem for me as I love a bit of historiography!! I was also unaware about the origins of the conspiracies that Shakespeare wasn’t actually Shakespeare but I very much enjoyed Bryson reading the conspirators for filth in the final chapter.
I know relatively little about Shakespeare but enjoyed this. It felt more of a kind of historiographical overview of Shakespeare’s life than a thorough A-Z of his life but that’s understandable as there’s just a lack of evidence to really achieve the latter which Bryson admits throughout. Nor is it a problem for me as I love a bit of historiography!! I was also unaware about the origins of the conspiracies that Shakespeare wasn’t actually Shakespeare but I very much enjoyed Bryson reading the conspirators for filth in the final chapter.
A short book about the life and impact of William Shakespeare. He was a playwright and wrote some important plays. But this book also helps you understand that there were so many other unexplored facets of his life. Like his lost years when he left his home and virtually disappeared for 8 years before emerging on the London theatre scene. Or his family struggles and many real estate investments. He was also a successful businessperson and owned shares in popular theatres of the day. I loved the chapters on random research projects on his life (like who is the real Shakespeare? who printed the First Folio? what place has the largest Shakespeare collection). His relevance is so widespread that he is still taught widely across the world. And there is an entire city named in his memory in Canada called Stratford, Ontario.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
fast-paced
I am struggling to recall why exactly I wanted to read this. Many people speak highly of Bryson. But why would I want to read a wry Midwesterner on Shakespeare? I still can’t answer that. This is middlebrow secondary work, not any sort of textual analysis. The entire book addresses the dearth actually known about the Bard. If there is a hero it is the duo who gave us the first Folio.