Shakespeare

“Shakespeare” by Bill Bryson

I like Bill Bryson’s writing so much that I would almost buy anything that he writes without actually knowing what it was about. Initially he grabbed my attention through his travel book called “Down Under” obviously it is about Australia.

So when I saw a book that he has written on Shakespeare I though that he would turn a potentially dry subject into something interesting. I was not disappointed.

From the beginning it was evident that Bryson had done so much research about Shakespeare and the era in which he lived. This allowed him to write in his trademark witty style that I enjoy. He is as informative as he can be here, as there is little that is actually known about the life of William Shakespeare. We learn more about the era and the popular legends about the man than about his actual life.

Turns out that his works is the main remnant from his short life. Even that can be described as a miracle. Even his works though have caused a lot of interesting discussion for the last 400 years. The works of Shakespeare have been attributed to many other people in the theories of researchers. Unfortunately none of their conclusions has more weight than the current popular opinion that William Shakespeare was the sole author of the finest plays from his era.

A very interesting read.