Shakespeare: The World as a Stage - Bill Bryson

When I think of Bill Bryson, I tend to think first of his travel writing. I find this interesting because the last time one was his African Diary in 2002. Having read most of these I can say I like Bill Bryson. His works are broken down into 'bite-size' sections, with a gentle humour that is able to mock something and make it endearing at the same time. His books tell of a man who has bumbled his way inquisitively around the world and we love him for it. Then there are the books Bryson has written about the speaking of English. Here we see the true calibre of Bryson's journalistic credentials. This incarnation, while still maintaining a boundless and ...  Read the complete review

Shakespeare eh? Bloody hell. What can be said of William Shakespeare that hasn't already been said? The greatest Englishmen who ever lived? Possibly. The greatest writer we've ever produced? Probably. The most important and most influential wordsmith ever? Almost definitely. There can't be many people who haven't heard of him, most could name and précis a dozen or so of his works even if they've barely read a page or watched a scene. Every English Literature student in this country will have been exposed to his plays or sonnets at some point making him surely the most famous and best-known non-royal in English history. There have been hundreds of ...  Read the complete review

This book is apparently one of a small series of books in which well-known and distinguished authors write biographies about famous people. Well, if this book written by Bill Bryson about William Shakespeare is anything to go by, then it is not only a very good idea but a well executed one as well. Not having studied English Literature at school and never having had the inclination to do anything about it since, I have not read any of Shakespeare's plays. However, I have seen a few performances at the threatre and have even watched a few film adaptions. However, what I knew about the great English bard was no more than basic general knowledge. I found this ...  Read the complete review

Studying English at University and generally having quite an interest in his plays about seeing a couple of them whilst still at secondary school I thought it was about time that I learnt a bit more about the playwright that is William Shakespeare hence my purchase of Bill Bryson's book 'Shakespeare'. I'm not saying by the above however that I knew nothing about Shakespeare as a person, as I have visited his houses in Stratford and read a couple of all pieces on him or the 'conspiracy theories' surrounding him. I did feel however that I didn't know enough about his character and due the fact that this book was advertised as 'witty and infectiously ...  Read the complete review

I picked up this book having read and enjoyed several other of Bill Bryson's books, especially 'Notes From a Small Island' and 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. I've been a fan of his witty humour and accessible writing style for several years - perfect bedtime reading! 'Shakespeare' is a book about, well, William Shakespeare. Sort of... you see, you soon realise that most of the things we know about Shakespeare are myths and assumptions - including even the spelling of his name, that he never spelled the same way twice! The few things that we do know, are very small pieces of information gathered from official documents. What I enjoyed ...  Read the complete review