An interesting surprise!
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This is not my normal type of reading at all - I am much more inclined to read fiction and have never actually read a Bill Bryson. But I love anything to do with Shakespeare so was moved to buy it. And what a nice surprise I got! A great little book full of quirky and interesting facts about Shakespeare's time (such as better-off people wearing black as black dye cost more and people having black teeth as a result of eating sugar, but those who couldn't afford the sugar made their teeth black to make it look as if they could!!). Certainly a book to keep on the shelves to refer to again. I would definitely recommend it to any Shakespeare fans.
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perfectly fine little book
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I have to admit that having read a few introductions to good editions (such as the Arden and Penguin introduction on Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage) and Bryson's other book Mother Tongue (which covers much of what S had given to the language)that i found myself already knowing a great deal of what was written here.
I think that this is the ideal first book you should read about Shakespeare. Perhaps ideal for those who are interested beyond the film adaptations of S they have seen. It sets out what is absolutely known about the about someone who is practically unknowable, save a few legal documents a portrait and lots of historical context. Bryson delivers this information in his ever enjoyable tone that is as friendly and as funny as the 'Book' in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
This the book simply seems to build up to debunking the Oxfordian theories of authorship. Since the subject of Shakespeare is so slight (which is of course no fault of the author) i can't help but feel that more should have been written about the life of the plays after Shakespeare, and their importance to human culture. this much is already assumed to be known to the reader... but as i said had this been the ideal 'first book someone should read about S' more upon the 'life's work after the life' should have been explored.
In short: Great First book on subject, but you do yourself a disservice to make it your last.
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Little Is Known
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Like so many others I always look forward to a new Bill Bryson, but this one was rather strange. A small volume, the author spends most of it telling us that virtually nothing is known about our greatest playwright and then continues to prove it throughout the text.
So we skip over many lost years and hurtle from his productive period to his death in a matter of pages seemingly skipping over where he was, who he was, how he wrote, where he wrote, why he wrote, what he wrote and even how he died.
Shakespeare is a mystery and an enigma - Bryson tells us this on numerous occasions and this book falls into the same slot. It's almost as if he has decided to write a book about the man and then found out that there is very little to write.
That doesn't detract from the entertaining way Bryson sets the historical context of the times but we always return to the same premise - little or nothing is known about the man, his movements, his life, his family and so we go on. If Bryson went in search of Shakespeare he failed to find him. Much of the book debunks various theories. Certainly it isn't one to read if you want to learn about Shakespeare. It is one to read if you want to learn a little about Elizabethan and Jacobean England and that's really all there is to say about a good idea that just leaves you wanting more facts.
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Bryson can do no wrong
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One of Bill Bryson's strengths has always been his ability to digest a vast amount of material and regurgitate the relevant bits, revealing what we know and what we don't, exploding myths and picking out fascinating little-known details. If ever a subject needed that kind of treatment, it was Shakespeare. As Bryson says, the sum total of our actual knowledge about him comes from around 100 documents. All else is baseless legend, debatable interpretation of the plays and poetry, or plain guesswork.
Rendered in Bryson's usual engaging, accessible and witty style, this is a concise guide which cuts through the legend and supposition to tell us the facts as we have them (and how we have them), not just about Shakespeare but the social, political and cultural landscape of England during his time. It is also an infectiously enthusiastic tribute from a professional wordsmith to the playwright who added so much to the English language.
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Bryson goes tedious
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Although this book starts off entertainingly in true Bryson style, the speculative, suppositional style and nature of the information soon begins to grate to the point where I just want to flush the book down the toilet (incidentally, a good place to read this kind of drudge, permitting quick and instant disposal).
Bryson does, of course, admit to the dearth of material on Shakespeare, but that doesn't give him carte blanche to turn out such an utterly unnecessary pile of tedium.
P.S. Don't be fooled by 5-Star reviews by Bryson fans, employees or relatives (see above and below) - this book really is cr@p.
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