The Life of William Shakespeare is a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of Shakespeare's life and works focusing on oftern neglected literary and historical contexts: what Shakespeare read, who he worked with as an author and an actor, and how these various collaborations may have affected his writing.

• Written by an eminent Shakespearean scholar and experienced theatre reviewer
• Pays particular attention to Shakespeare's theatrical contemporaries and the ways in which they influenced his writing
• Offers an intriguing account of the life and work of the great poet-dramatist structured around the idea of memory
• Explores often neglected literary and historical contexts that illuminate Shakespeare's life and works