Bill Bryson's bestselling biography of William Shakespeare takes the reader on an enthralling tour through Elizabethan England and the eccentricities of Shakespearean scholarship--updated with a new introduction by the author to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death

William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. His Shakespeare is like no one else's--the beneficiary of Bryson's genial nature, his engaging skepticism, and a gift for storytelling unrivaled in our time.

"Bill Bryson has yet to disappoint. . . . This examination is likely to stick with you because of Bryson's humor, deep love of language, and clear fondness for his subject."-Boston Globe

William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself. His Shakespeare is like no one else's---the beneficiary of Bryson's genial nature, his engaging skepticism, and a gift for storytelling unrivaled in our time.

"A telling glance at one of history's most unknowable figures."-Kirkus Reviews

Eminent Lives

Succinct, essayistic, and enlivened by a strong point of view, the Eminent Lives series joins a distinguished literary tradition---great writers on great figures, short biographies perfect for an age short on time.