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Title: The Lodger Shakespeare
Subtitle: His Life on Silver Street
Author: Charles Nicholl
Narrator: Simon Vance
Format: Unabridged
Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
Language: English
Release date: 02-19-08
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes
Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians
Publisher's Summary:
In 1612, William Shakespeare gave evidence in a court case at Westminster; it is the only occasion on which his actual spoken words were recorded. The case seems routine - a dispute over an unpaid marriage dowry - but it opens an unexpected window into the dramatist's famously obscure life. Using the court testimony as a springboard, acclaimed nonfiction writer Charles Nicholl examines this fascinating period in Shakespeare's life. With evidence from a wide variety of sources, Nicholl creates a compelling, detailed account of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked during the time in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure, and King Lear. The case also throws new light on the puzzling story of Shakespeare's collaboration with the hack author and violent brothel owner George Wilkins.
In The Lodger Shakespeare we see the playwright in the daily context of a street in Jacobean London: "one Mr. Shakespeare", lodging in the room upstairs. Nicholl is one of the great historical detectives of our time and in this atmospheric and exciting book he has created a considerable rarity - something new and original about Shakespeare.
Editorial Reviews:
More effectively than a time machine, this extraordinary nonfiction, expertly narrated by Simon Vance, transports listeners to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London and the life of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is 40, writing his great plays, and living in rented London lodging during the theater season. When he gives evidence in a court case, his actual words are taken down and stored away for hundreds of years. Enter historian Charles Nicholl, who uses them, along with countless other dusty documents, to re-create the era and Shakespeare's milieu. Vance gives verve to the excellent writing. Occasional touches of foreign and regional accents add color. And he paces the text and copious historical and literary quotations perfectly. This is an audiobook that one wants never to end.
Critic Reviews:
"The detail is delicious. It is almost prodigal. The Lodger Shakespeare is a triumph of reconstruction." (The Times)
"This modest, enchantng book brings us as close to the elusive lodger as we are ever likely to get." ( Sunday Times)
