The Book of Air and Shadows - Michael Gruber

The Book of Air and shadows by Michael Gruber is a book about the discovery of a previously unknown Shakespearean play. The book is largely set in America, New York in particular but darts around England and Switzerland at various moments in the book. The book uses the fact that though considered the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare left virtually nothing in his own hand, a few signatures and a sentence in a law case. Imagine the importance of a previously unknown Shakespeare play, priceless yes, but in his own hand, probably the most precious object held in any library anywhere in the world. So the book starts with a ...  Read the complete review

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers the world has ever produced, a household name whose turns of phrase are so well known that many have slipped into everyday usage with us hardly even noticing. Yet for someone who produced such a magnificent body of work, had such a huge impact on the English language and whose image is recognised the world over, there is remarkably little evidence that he ever existed at all. A gravestone, a few references in legal documents and six signatures are the only remaining tangible evidence of his life - such small traces that there have even been questions asked about whether he wrote the plays and poems that bear his name at ...  Read the complete review

Book of Air & Shadows Michael Gruber has put together this fantastic fictional thriller. Along the same vein as 'The Da Vinci Code' this book deals with a lost Shakespeare play. In 'real life' there is only 1 piece of physical evidence that Shakespeare actually existed, which is his signature on a will. Some think the 'Shakespeare' works are from a collection of authors, some believe he was the writer. I think because all his works were published after his death that there is suspicion. This book uses this urban legend to form a story that letters have been found which indicate there is a Shakespearean play hidden and the lengths to ...  Read the complete review