Synopsis (from the book cover):

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 Shakespear’s language – his ceasless 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.

Thoughts:

The book exposes how little is known about Shakespeare, even the pictorial images we know him by might not represent his true likeness. These images are based on three original artworks, two af which were painted years after his death. Bill Bryson writes at length about society in the Elizabethan era bringing it to life but was unable to find many facts about Shakespeare himself.

This book served as a reminder that we should do our own reasearch rather than accept what is presented to us as fact.