redhickory's review against another edition
1.0
This has been described as a “modern masterpiece”; if so, clearly I just don’t get it, as I found it irritating and tedious.
It is supposedly written by Anne Hathaway, 7 years after her husband’s death. She talks of her dislike for “posey” and metaphor and her strong preference for plain language; then proceeds to drop metaphors and similes. I found the modern language and expressions used annoying, granted it was type-set in an older style font, so presumably that should have sufficed for setting it in a certain period...
The author aims to explain the expression “second-best bed” which Shakespeare leaves his wife. I really liked the premise, the idea of hearing from Anne’s POV is intriguing. However the way Nye attempts to provide us the answers to several literary mysteries and the suggestion that Shakespeare trialed the plots for his plays in the “best bed” means the book ends up basically being a literary dirty joke.
It is full of allusions and those who have read or studied Shakespeare will get more out of it than those who haven’t, and no doubt many would find it witty and well done but I'm not one of them.
It is supposedly written by Anne Hathaway, 7 years after her husband’s death. She talks of her dislike for “posey” and metaphor and her strong preference for plain language; then proceeds to drop metaphors and similes. I found the modern language and expressions used annoying, granted it was type-set in an older style font, so presumably that should have sufficed for setting it in a certain period...
The author aims to explain the expression “second-best bed” which Shakespeare leaves his wife. I really liked the premise, the idea of hearing from Anne’s POV is intriguing. However the way Nye attempts to provide us the answers to several literary mysteries and the suggestion that Shakespeare trialed the plots for his plays in the “best bed” means the book ends up basically being a literary dirty joke.
It is full of allusions and those who have read or studied Shakespeare will get more out of it than those who haven’t, and no doubt many would find it witty and well done but I'm not one of them.
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