Shakespeare

The World as a Stage

By: Bill Bryson

This short biography of William Shakespeare by world famous writer Bill Bryson brims with the author’s inimitable wit and intelligence.

Includes an exclusive Q&A session with the author.

Shakespeare’s life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard – from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.

Following his international bestsellers ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ and ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’, Bill Bryson has written a short biography of William Shakespeare for the Eminent Lives series – which seeks to pair great subjects with writers known for their strong sensibilities and sharp, lively points of view.

Critic reviews

Praise for ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ (HB):

‘A modern classic.’ The New York Times

‘It represents a wonderful education, and all schools would be better places if it were the core science reader on the curriculum.’ Times Literary Supplement

Praise for ‘The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid’:

'Outlandishly and improbably entertaining…inevitably [I] would
be reduced to body-racking, tear-inducing, de-couching laughter.' New York Times

'Always witty and sometimes hilarious…wonderfully funny and
touching.' Literary Review

Wit wittled down by voice

As a Bryson fan I have thoroughly enjoyed his books and was looking forward to his insightful and irreverent treatment of this noble subject. He lived up to expectations with a rather concise account of the life, times and work of Shakespeare with generous dollops of sarcasm, humour and derision thrown in. It would have been a splendid piece of work had Bryson settled for a professional narrator (as in Short History of Nearly Everything). Instead Bryson's clipped, clumsy and poorly enunciated voice is intrusive and jarring. What a pity. I hope the publishers consider another edition with a trained actor as narrator.

another Bryson best

If you could sum up Shakespeare in three words, what would they be?

a good read

Have you listened to any of Bill Bryson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

as good as 'at home' also excellent work

Any additional comments?

keep up the good work Bill

"Born in Latin but dies in English."

Bill Bryson, with witty, journalistic style, turns his spotlight onto Shakespeare, the wordsmith playwright who introduced so many words and phrases into the English language, many of which are still in use today, and about whom so many words, in turn, have already been written. This is not really a biography: so little is known about the man, even down to what he looked like. Instantly recognisable, yet there are only three known portraits of him, two made years after his death and the third, a painting, which quite possibly isn't even of him. Nor is this an analysis of his works, though these are touched upon, of course. Instead it is a trip around the man, what little is known, the time and place in which he lived, the 'academic obsession' he has.become and the many, many others who have written about him.

Always written with a light touch and an eye for the curious, Bryson's book is short at only about five and one half hours and constantly entertaining as well as informative. He reads his book himself, his s. pleasant and brisk, a smile behind the text.
Thin book is a joy, as is also the short interview with the author which follows.

Not the book you might think it is...

This is a book about Shakespeare the man (and the times he lived in) - it is not a guide to his works. But given that qualification, it is an intriguing account. It flows easily into the ear, constantly asking interesting questions, and answering many. But in the end, we are still left wondering how any person could grasp so much and penetrate so deeply into humankind.

Great book, a must for fans of Bill Bryson

The books information is put in a lighthearted interesting way to make it easy to understand while also having Bill Bryson’s fantastic voice to listen too. Definitely a fantastic audio book :D