Shakespeare’s ambiguity seems to be one of the defining features of his works that continues to appeal to audiences. He tapped into their hopes, their fears, their bitterness, and their anxieties in order to write plays that spoke strongly to their historical moment, but that still resonate with us today. No easy one-to-one connections are drawn, but Shapiro convincingly demonstrates that Shakespeare was sensitively attuned to what was happening around him and to how the nation–and his audience–may have been thinking, feeling, and responding. It focuses intensely on one year in Shakespeare’s life, drawing connections between cultural, political, and religious moments that would have impacted Shakespeare and potentially influenced his writings. ReviewĪ Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 is one of my favorite non-fiction Shakespeare reads to date. Tensions run high and, through it all, Shakespeare writes four of his greatest plays, speaking to his contemporaries about their unexpressed hopes and fears. But some fear he could return at the head of an army, his sights set on England crown. In Ireland, rebellion brews and the queen’s former favorite, the Earl of Essex, sets out to quell it. Her people anxiously await a potential foreign invasion, especially if she does not name an heir. Queen Elizabeth is childless on the throne of England. ‘ A fascinating and entirely believable portrait of a talented workaholic … Shapiro’s informed enthusiasm and energetic prose is addictive.Goodreads: 1599: A Year in the Life of Shakespeareġ599.
‘A far richer, more intimate portrait of our greatest author than you’re likely to find in any cradle-to-grave biography.’ Daily Mail ‘A brilliant study, which carefully unpacks a single year in Shakespeare’s life … The audacious focus on just one year pays off magnificently.’ Sunday Times This book brings the news, intrigue and flavour of the times together with wonderful detail about how Shakespeare worked as an actor, businessman and playwright, to create an exceptionally immediate and gripping account of an inspiring moment in history.
How did Shakespeare go from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating year we follow what he reads and writes, what he saw and who he worked with as he invests in the new Globe theatre and creates four of his most famous plays – Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet. Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Baillie Gifford ‘Winner of Winners’ award in 2023
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