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Shakespeare

The World as a Stage

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Shakespeare

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Bill Bryson
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About this listen

This short biography of William Shakespeare by world famous writer Bill Bryson brims with the author’s inimitable wit and intelligence.

Includes an exclusive Q&A session with the author.

Shakespeare’s life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard – from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.

Following his international bestsellers ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ and ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’, Bill Bryson has written a short biography of William Shakespeare for the Eminent Lives series – which seeks to pair great subjects with writers known for their strong sensibilities and sharp, lively points of view.

©2007 Bill Bryson (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK Art & Literature Authors Drama & Plays Entertainment & Celebrities Literary History & Criticism Shakespeare Celebrity Funny Witty

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Effortless scholarship, warm and engaging delivery, fascinating topic. What's not to like? Bill Bryson takes his 'ordinary bloke' persona deep into the thickets of Shakespearean scholarship, gives all the facts, of which there are not a lot, punctures a bunch of theories many of which are examples of the High Stupid, and leaves me wanting more Bryson AND more Shakespeare.

Easy, not stupid, introduction to Shakespeare

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I'm a Shakespeare nut (I've seen 38 different Hamlets and hope to make it 40). And this book is a breath of fresh air amongst the tsunami of learned tomes, and pointless speculations, on the subject.

A MUST if you're a lover of Shakespeare

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Bill Bryson is such an easy listen, and I learned a lot. It brought alive the atmosphere of Shakespeare 's life and time.

Enjoyable

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Despite there being very little known about the playwright, Bill Bryson has gathered together some interesting information tangential to Shakespeare’s life, particularly the dismissal of all the misguided and frankly weird theories that other people wrote his plays. The author fleshes out what was happening the the country during Shakespeare’s lifetime and it was certainly an eventful period of English history.

I guess if you’re not familiar with his plays much of the book will be of little interest other than the historical background. The minutiae of statistics of the playwrights inclusion of certain words etc., are there for true devotees. For me it’s seeing the plays performed that matter and I’m grateful that the texts were saved as it was obviously a close-run thing as it appears that Shakespeare didn’t appear to care about his place in posterity and it was left to others to gather together the material from diverse sources to produced the First Folio. I’m left with the impression that Shakespeare would be amazed at the veneration he attracts four centuries after his death.

I have enjoyed reading several of Bill Bryson’s other books and while I did enjoy the present book I don’t think he was the ideal narrator. He tended to gabble the text which made the quotations in more antique English from the plays and poems even more difficult to grasp. I reduced the speed of the recording which helped.

Enjoyable for Shakespeare aficionados

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I really enjoyed Bryson’s take on the Shakespeare story but don’t expect any major revelations - because we know so little about him this could accurately be subtitled (if you’ll excuse the shameless pun!) ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ but, nonetheless, worth listening to, I just wish Bryson would sometimes use a professional narrator as his mellifluous tones can induce sleep and possible coma!

Another take on our William

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This book brought Shakespeare and his work and times to life. I have not read or saw any Shakespeare but this great insight into the genius of the man both Will and Bill has give me a thirst for more. Well worth the time for a Shakespeare fan and a novice like myself.

Shakespeare for all

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A brilliant walk through the life and persona of William Shakespeare. Bryson makes the subject engaging and you come away a better person!

Makes the topic accessible.

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Bill Bryson can turn his hand to any subject and make it interesting - even topics which might not appeal directly to me. I’m no great fan of Shakespeare - more by a lack of exposure than any actual dislike - but this book really interested me from start to finish. There are obviously (as is apparent from this book) many many books, articles and papers on the subject - this however is probably lighter than many yet still an interesting summary of the man, his times and his work. The subject of the actual authorship of work attributed to Shakespeare is also covered and quite definitively - to me at least.

Excellent, informative and entertaining - the icing on the cake is narration by Bryson himself who’s voice, cadence and tone are always so appealing

Fabulous

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I have, for a long time, been a 'fan' of the writing of Bill Bryson, however his book Shakespeare not only informs the reader/listener about the life of William Shakespeare, but, also highlights just want a wonderful writer Bill Bryson.

I have most of Bryson's works and this one is as good as the others.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did

Another side of Bill Bryson

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Bill Bryson, with witty, journalistic style, turns his spotlight onto Shakespeare, the wordsmith playwright who introduced so many words and phrases into the English language, many of which are still in use today, and about whom so many words, in turn, have already been written. This is not really a biography: so little is known about the man, even down to what he looked like. Instantly recognisable, yet there are only three known portraits of him, two made years after his death and the third, a painting, which quite possibly isn't even of him. Nor is this an analysis of his works, though these are touched upon, of course. Instead it is a trip around the man, what little is known, the time and place in which he lived, the 'academic obsession' he has.become and the many, many others who have written about him.

Always written with a light touch and an eye for the curious, Bryson's book is short at only about five and one half hours and constantly entertaining as well as informative. He reads his book himself, his s. pleasant and brisk, a smile behind the text.
Thin book is a joy, as is also the short interview with the author which follows.

"Born in Latin but dies in English."

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