Neil MacGregor

Illuminates key social and historical aspects of the Tudor era of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare, drawing on expertise from cultural institutions to reveal how twenty specific historical objects reflect the essence of the Bard's universe.

Shakespeare's Restless World

The Elizabethan age was a tumultuous time, when long-cherished certainties were crumbling and life was exhilaratingly uncertain. Shakespeare's Restless World uncovers the extraordinary stories behind twenty objects from the period to re-create an age at once distant and yet surprisingly familiar. From knife crime to belief in witches, religious battles to the horizons of the New World, Neil MacGregor brings the past to life in a fresh, unexpected portrait of a dangerous and dynamic era. 'Fascinating . . . filled with anecdotes and insights, eerie, funny, poignant and grotesque . . . another brilliant vindication of MacGregor's understanding of physical objects to enter deep into our fore­fathers' mental and spiritual world.' Christopher Hart, Sunday Times 'Enjoyable and intriguing, an absorbing evocation . . . he draws us into the minds of the Elizabethan and Jacobean audience. Next time you see one of the plays reading this book will make those first audiences seem real to you.' Peter Lewis, Daily Mail 'How gripping are these tales from a lost world. And what a world Shakespeare's was - adventurous, melancholy, rich and plagued by beggary, courteous and quarrelsome, sceptical and credulous.' Daily Telegraph 'Elegant, informative . . . provides stimulating insights.' Anne Somerset, Spectator

An Unexpected History in Twenty Objects

Emmett

So curious, resonant and inspiring. This is effectively a Shakespeare's edition of A History of the World in 100 Objects (also by the same author), and a potent reminder that even the smallest of things cast aside by time contain in themselves an aura of mystery, the luminous, unexpected wonder that ripples outwards to meet the modern day viewer. Through anecdote, the lines of the Bard's plays and comparison to how we live and think and our experience of theatre, this book resurrects Shakespeare's times, bringing up a variety of familiar themes from street violence to xenophobia, national identity and even daily habits. The singular objects contemplated, coupled with historical detail and pulled together by eloquent writing, stirs the imagination. For instance, the ornamented iron fork dropped in the Rose Theatre (chapter three) compels the yearning to know who this 'A.N.' was, what they had possibly snacked on while they were being entertained. The mind returns again and again to circle that fateful moment when this fashionable and possibly cherished piece of cutlery slipped from their fingers.

Shakespeare's Restless World

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