Peter Ackroyd

Sheds new light on the life of the great Elizabethan playwright and poet, reassessing Shakespeare's work within the context of sixteenth-century London and Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as his lasting legacy for world literature.

The Biography

Shakespeare

Trevor Berrett

While I got annoyed at how often Ackroyd unequivocally claimed things about Shakespeare that we really don't and can't know, I did like the detailed portrait of an age.

Jeni Enjaian

For a man whose name is as well known as Shakespeare, remarkable little primary evidence about his life remains. That fact has inextricably led to the obsessive fascination about learning or speculating about his life. 

This biography appears to be well-written. Obviously, speculation plays a large part of the narrative. However, Ackroyd seems to balance this speculation with verifiable facts. 

Since a large part of what can be discerned about Shakespeare's life comes from his plays, it helps to be familiar with his works. This, one won't get lost in the biography when Ackroyd interjects character names without the unnecessary and cumbersome backstory/explanation which would be needed to inform a reader of the details of all of Shakespeare's characters. 


I definitely recommend this book.

Shakespeare The Biography

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