Shakespeare

by Bill Bryson. 2007.

Following a less than enthralling autobiography, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, in one fell swoop Bill Bryson bounces back with this excellent biography of Shakespeare. What I particularly like about this biography is that it resists the temptation to make something out of nothing. Countless biographies of Shakespeare, faced with the lack of any hard evidence for large parts of his life, fill the gap with speculation and repetition of myth. Bryson is upfront about saying, we don’t know what Shakespeare was doing in this period – we just don’t know, alright? In fact, so little is known about Shakespeare’s life, that it’s amazing that any biography is possible – he appears to vanish into thin air. Bryson sets Shakespeare in the context of his eventful times, unveiling a vast wealth of social detail, some of it rather horrid. Lovers of interesting factoids will find plenty to enjoy. There are surprisingly few extracts from the plays or sonnets, however. Altogether Bryson comes across as well-read, critical, and a touch zany. Some will have an antipathy to his approach, but others will read him with bated breath.

In the above passage, words and phrase in red are first found in Shakespeare. The man’s genius beggars all description.

- John.