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highly recommended |
Pretty good but not great 
This book is exactly what you would expect of Mr. Bryson: a well-informed, humorous and well-written account of Wm. Shakespeare's life.
The problem is, as the author points out in the foreward, scarcely anything is known about Shakespeare's life, so the book of necessity resorts to broad speculation and focuses largely on persons connected to Shakespeare, rather than on the man himself. The paucity of useful information about Shakespeare likely explains the book's size, which is quite small.
Not that I blame Mr. Bryson for any of this: he obviously did the best he could with a limited amount of information and resources from which to draw.
To be honest, being a big fan of Bryson's work, I bought this book because of its author rather than the subject. While this book doesn't dissapoint, reading it is not the pleasurable experience one can expect from Bryson's great works, like A Walk in the Woods, In a Sunburned Country and A Short History of Nearly Everything.
To me, Bryon is at his best when he can accurately and dryly convey the true essence and personality of people (common folk and historical luminaries alike). Given the utter dearth of information available about Shakespeare, it's just not possible for Mr. Bryson to shine with this book.
Still, if you're a fan of either man, you will probably enjoy this slim volume.
Cool analysis of William Shakespeare 
This is one volume in the series "Eminent Lives." After having read this book, I am interested in exploring this series further.
William Shakespeare, of course, was a great playwright, whether of comedy or tragedy, and a fine poet as well. Bill Bryson, the author of this slender volume, notes how little we actually know of Shakespeare, when he says (Page 7): ". . .all we know about Shakespeare is contained within a few scanty facts: that he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, produced a family there, went to London, became an actor and writer, returned to Stratford, made a will, and died." After 400 years, the author observes, there are only about a hundred documents speaking to the Bard of Avon and his family.
The book begins by exploring what little is known about Shakespeare's early years (by the way, one cool point in this book is the multiple spellings of his name over time; Shakespeare himself spelled it differently at different points in time). The introductory comments also note something absolutely amazing: zillions of plays were written and performed in Shakespeare's time. Of the total number, only about 230 texts still exist--of which 15% are by Shakespeare, a stunning percentage. We know more about his work than any other playwright of the era.
The book is organized by time period. Chapter 2 examines the years from 1564-1585, Shakespeare's youth. The chapter begins with an effort to understand his father's life (John Shakespeare) as well as that of his mother (Mary Arden). We have little information on the Bard--his birth certificate, his marriage certificate (with Anne Hathaway), birth certificates for his children--during this period. From 1585 to 1592, Chapter 3 suggests, little is known about Shakespeare. Chapter 4 considers his early years in London. He began as an actor and turned, over time, into an author of plays. In 1592, he had even earned in a publication the scorn of a critic. By 1594, his theatrical troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, had become one of the major forces in theater, including leading actors of the day.
Subsequent chapters consider his plays, his business success (he did well as a joint owner of the troupe and the Globe Theater), his sonnets, what little we know of his family life (his son, Hamnet, died in his early youth). He was successful under Queen Elizabeth and, after her death, King James I, who viewed many of his performances. A number of contentious issues are addressed, including Shakespeare's sexuality, his relationship with his wife and family. There is even a brief description of the debates over whether Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him. Finally, the end game of his life. . . .
If one wishes a brief introduction to the life of Shakespeare (with a dash of wit thrown in by the author), this is a good place to start. Nicely written and well done!
Good but a bit dry in parts
This review is about the audiobook version, which surprisingly reveals Bill Bryson to have a weird Anglo-American accent. Perhaps his living in England so long has done this, as there is little hint of any midwest twang.
On to the book. For those looking for the humorous version of Bryson you won't get it here, although he peppers this book with various wry observations. Bryson starts at the beginning, where Shakespeare's family came from, what the times were like, and how a provincial like Shakespeare could become a prolific and brilliant playwright who has survived over the centuries.
Mostly, Shakespeare himself is shrouded in mystery, although Bryson explains how public records of the time mostly referred to matters of legality or vital statistics and don't reveal much else. There are many questions. Which portrait of Shakespeare is the right one? What was his relationship like with his wife? What on earth was he up to between 1592 and 1595? Certain questions will probably remain a mystery forever.
Still, Bryson attempts to debunk most of the conspiracy theories that won't go away, mostly in regard to those who believe that someone else (usually Francis Bacon) wrote the Bard's plays. Bryson brings up the conceit of literary types as one of the reasons that doubt still exists. "How could a mere provincial write this well?" This kind of snobbery still remains today, as if good writing is only restricted to a certain class of people.
This book can get a bit dry, especially in a lengthy entry about the several folios that came out after Shakespeare's death. Then again, many who care about this kind of thing will find it interesting. There is also a lot of historical background of the time which helps give some perspective.
Bryson doesn't provide many answers about Shakespeare the man. One wishes that he would have drawn some conclusions of his own, some possible scenarios, but then again he shows how speculation unsupported by evidence has led to many of these conspiracy theories.
Bright and breezy read.
Certainly, we may ask, "Do we really need another book on Shakespeare?" Well, the answer may not be that we need one but we can use one. This is a great book for the general audience that has enjoyed Shakespeare on the page or on the stage. It answers many of those what about questions, insofar as facts and historical data will allow. In many ways it is a good book for the other end of the shelf from "Will in the World." Bryson does not give us what ifs but rather known facts. Speculation can be fun, but should be identified as such. Many of us enjoyed "Shakespeare in Love" but knew it was really a fictional piece, made more of whole cloth than are most romans a clef. Bryson identifies such speculative forays and is especially clever in his ending which makes clear that the "Baconists" don't bring any bacon home with their theories. This book gives us a good picture of the controversies and foibles surrounding Shakespeare fans from the Chandos portrait to Folger's obsessive collecting. Many intricacies of Shakespearian scholarship are touched upon without becoming academically dry. His discussions of the the city and suburbs of London or the intricacies of sixteenth century printing are as precise and informative (but a bit more limited) than what I have heard from academic experts. This is an enjoyable text for both general and more specialized friends of the Bard.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
"William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. Bryson documents the efforts of earlier scholars, from today's most respected academics to eccentrics like Delia Bacon, an American who developed a firm but unsubstantiated conviction that her namesake, Francis Bacon, was the true author of Shakespeare's plays. Emulating the style of his famous travelogues, Bryson records episodes in his research, including a visit to a bunkerlike room in Washington, D.C., where the world's largest collection of First Folios is housed. Bryson celebrates Shakespeare as a writer of unimaginable talent and enormous inventiveness, a coiner of phrases ("vanish into thin air," "foregone conclusion," "one fell swoop") that even today have common currency. His Shakespeare is like no one else's -- the beneficiary of Bryson's genial nature, his engaging skepticism, and a gift for storytelling unrivaled in our time. "
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based on 59 reviews
