Shakespeare: The World as a Stage

"Bestselling writer Bill Bryson's brilliantly readable biography of our greatest dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is updated to mark the 400th anniversary of his death. Examining centuries of myths, half truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson tries to make sense of the man behind the masterpieces. In a journey through the streets of Shakespeare's time, he brings to life the hubbub of Elizabethan England and a host of characters along the way. Bryson celebrates the glory of Shakespeare's language -- his ceaseless inventiveness gave us hundreds of now indispensible phrases, images and words -- and delights in details of his fall-outs and folios, poetry and plays. Stitching together information from a vast array of sources, he has created a unique celebration of one of the most significant, and least understood, figures in history -- not to mention a classic piece of Bryson." -- Back cover.