A biography on Shakespeare that also concentrates heavily on the England that Shakespeare inhabited. Easy to read and covers Shakespeare's entire life. Not very in depth though if that's what you're going for.
With the right expectations, a very enjoyable read. I was expecting more detailed information about Shakespeare's life and less general info about the time and place he lived. But this was really a book on how we know what we know about Shakespeare- and what we know is very little. Kudos to Bryso...
A brief and easy biography that breezes through the main phases of William Shakespeare's life at warp speed. The main point seems to be that little can be known about the man, so most biographies (including this one) are all conjecture and supposition. Enough background information is provides so th...
I mainly picked up this book because I love Bill Bryson, and will read anything he writes. I also loved Shakespeare back when I was doing my English Literature A-Level but hadn't read much either by or about him since. As always, I found Bryson really readable and the edition of the book was just ...
If you wanted to know more about William Shakespeare, his life, his writings, his times…etc, you would have to embark in the reading of an endless amount of written material that would fill trucks and trucks. Alternatively, you could choose a more expedite path. If instead of rummaging through t...
A truly good read! I liked this so much more than I was expecting. Knowing how little we actually know about the man I couldn't imagine how Bryson was going to pull this thing off. But, somehow, this is a truly engaging and informative read - perfect for the layman who is slightly more than casually...
I was a nice, fun, quick read, and I feel smarter afterwards. Mission accomplished.Strengths:- Mr Bryson makes a good distinction between fiction and fact. As he clearly notes, there are a lot of scholars that think to know how Shakespeare was as a person, even though no one could ever have that kno...
This is a very strange and frustrating book: it reads like a lighthearted text book for teenagers - except that it has no index (a cardinal sin for any non-fiction book). It is about a wordsmith, but the first chapter focuses on what he may have looked like. Its mission and content is to tell us abo...
Shakespeare's biography is sketchy, and ever thus it shall remain. This little book represents Bill Bryson's attempt to collect what scant information exists, and to debunk a few spurious claims. I can't say I know much more about Sweet Will now than I did before reading the book, but Bryson is no...
A nice, short, amusing, and fond look at the few details we know about Shakespeare. I particularly credit the last chapter on supposed claims in favor of other authors, which is where the skepticism comes in. Bryson doesn't go to great lengths pointing out why the individual theories are silly, ju...
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