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scoads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
A beautifully written and amazingly introspective book that spoke to me on so many levels. Conveys a universal experience of women in Shakespeare, and delivers a wonderful letter to the bard himself at the end.
balletbookworm's review
4.0
4.5 stars. Some of the earlier chapters, which were drawn from other pieces she wrote for various publications, etc., felt undeveloped. But the later chapters created specifically for this collection are amazing in giving us a peek inside how an actor develops a character - and specifically a character that has been played so many times by so many other actors. I always enjoy Harriet Walter in anything I've seen her in so this was a delight to read.
And if you can catch it, the Julius Caesar where she plays Brutus is phenomenal. I haven't seen the Henry IV (or Tempest, which she doesn't get into) yet but I hope I can.
And if you can catch it, the Julius Caesar where she plays Brutus is phenomenal. I haven't seen the Henry IV (or Tempest, which she doesn't get into) yet but I hope I can.
gjmaupin's review
4.0
I have no idea whether a book like this is useful or interesting to non-actors, but to a performer is filled with the insightful practicality of a professional at work.
jswense's review
4.0
I bought this book after seeing her in Phyllida Lloyd’s Shakespeare trilogy in London in 2016 but only got around to reading it now. It is an excellent piece of Shakespeare scholarship that emphasises the importance of actors to understanding the canon. Walter over all does well exploring privilege, entitlement, and gender in relation to Shakespeare. My only wish is that she had addressed the problems of her, as a white woman, playing Cleopatra. Beyond that it was a well written and thoughtful account of gender and Shakespeare.
pers's review against another edition
5.0
An engaging, well-written, intelligent account of Harriet Walter's experiences playing Shakespeare's leading ladies, and 2 of his leading men. A thoroughly readable book that could easily have been twice as long.
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