remarkableinchworm's review against another edition
4.0
I have the deepest respect for people willing to admit what they don’t know. And that’s exactly what this book is all about - just how little we really know about Shakespeare’s life (with a side of “yeah, that theory that’s been floating around forever? It’s crap.”)
memelollars's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so entertaining and interesting that I read it in two sittings! I took issue with a few things (and wrote some mildly exasperated margin notes), but overall I think it’s a great intro to Shakespeare’s life and times, if not as rigorously researched as I would have liked. I appreciated that Bryson seems disgusted by the ridiculous theory that Shakespeare was not the actual author of his plays and that he concludes that speculating about Shakespeare’s sexuality is just that: speculation. For the most part, it is a fairly balanced book and free from ideological interpretation.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
"William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. Bryson documents the efforts of earlier scholars, from today's most respected academics to eccentrics like Delia Bacon, an American who developed a firm but unsubstantiated conviction that her namesake, Francis Bacon, was the true author of Shakespeare's plays. Emulating the style of his famous travelogues, Bryson records episodes in his research, including a visit to a bunker-like room in Washington, D.C., where the world's largest collection of First Folios is housed." (From Amazon)
I liked this brief witty description of Shakespeare's life as Shakespeare.
"William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. Bryson documents the efforts of earlier scholars, from today's most respected academics to eccentrics like Delia Bacon, an American who developed a firm but unsubstantiated conviction that her namesake, Francis Bacon, was the true author of Shakespeare's plays. Emulating the style of his famous travelogues, Bryson records episodes in his research, including a visit to a bunker-like room in Washington, D.C., where the world's largest collection of First Folios is housed." (From Amazon)
I liked this brief witty description of Shakespeare's life as Shakespeare.
annemariewellswriter's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I found it extraordinarily interesting and I love Bryson's writing voice.
It's pretty short, only 200 pages, so I highly recommend it to anyone who finds history, theater, Shakespeare interesting.
It's pretty short, only 200 pages, so I highly recommend it to anyone who finds history, theater, Shakespeare interesting.
skyring's review against another edition
4.0
Bill Bryson has always been good at making fun of people, and he indulges himself in this book, especially in the "Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare" section, where several people line up to have their bums kicked by Bryson. Throughout the book, there are any number of witty Brysonisms, and it is an entertaining read.
More latterly, Bill Bryson has become a superb history writer, and with this book on Shakespeare, he spins out the remarkably few facts known of Shakespeare the man into a fine biography, drawing upon the times, the places and the people known to Shakespeare. It's certainly a colorful life, especially the time spent in the seedy London streets, where he produced the plays that thrill us still.
Theatre in Elizabethan times was immensely popular, and there was a thriving trade in playwrighting, where drama was produced and presented under conditions of remarkable bareness and intimacy. No curtains, little in the way of sets or costumes, actors and audience breathing each other's farts. In some theatres, one could actually buy seats upon the stage itself. Bryson brings the atmosphere alive, and the plays gain more charm and gusto in our minds.
What this book is not is a treatise upon the plays or verses. They are passed over, for the most part, with a few references and quotes to show us a facet of the life of the author, and to illuminate his remarkable talent. Dear reader, seek elsewhere for the sparkle and wit of Shakespeare the writings, for this is a biography of Shakespeare the man, and it is a very good one, all the more astonishing for the fact that everything we know directly of him could easily fit on a single page.
More latterly, Bill Bryson has become a superb history writer, and with this book on Shakespeare, he spins out the remarkably few facts known of Shakespeare the man into a fine biography, drawing upon the times, the places and the people known to Shakespeare. It's certainly a colorful life, especially the time spent in the seedy London streets, where he produced the plays that thrill us still.
Theatre in Elizabethan times was immensely popular, and there was a thriving trade in playwrighting, where drama was produced and presented under conditions of remarkable bareness and intimacy. No curtains, little in the way of sets or costumes, actors and audience breathing each other's farts. In some theatres, one could actually buy seats upon the stage itself. Bryson brings the atmosphere alive, and the plays gain more charm and gusto in our minds.
What this book is not is a treatise upon the plays or verses. They are passed over, for the most part, with a few references and quotes to show us a facet of the life of the author, and to illuminate his remarkable talent. Dear reader, seek elsewhere for the sparkle and wit of Shakespeare the writings, for this is a biography of Shakespeare the man, and it is a very good one, all the more astonishing for the fact that everything we know directly of him could easily fit on a single page.
stuff4bd's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
5.0
A great overview of what is known about Shakespeare’s life (not much) as well as the history of his times. Despite the high level/overview approach I learned so much.