Sitting down to read ‘Who Killed William Shakespeare: The Murderer. The Motive. The Means’, it occurred to me that I really didn’t know much about the man. Yes he wrote plays, was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon and married a woman called Anne Hathaway, but that was about it. I felt a little ignorant to be honest, considering he is known the world over for his contribution to British literary history.
The main man: Will Shakespeare
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Cracking open this book, I was excited. Excited to learn more about Will and his life. And by the end of the first few pages, I was hooked. The author, Simon Andrew Stirling, has an ease of writing. He combines intelligence by the bucket-load with discreet humour to keep the reader thoroughly engaged.
Truthfully, I did think there would come a point where I would think “…that’s enough of Shakespeare now”, but truthfully, I didn’t. There wasn’t a point throughout the whole read where I felt bored, uninspired or disengaged. This comes down to the fact that Simon’s obvious passion goes hand-in-hand with his extensive knowledge. And as we say here at the Hive, if you can communicate your passion for a subject, it can’t help but be interesting!
Above all, Stirling is an aficionado of Shakespeare. He has spent a great deal of time meticulously researching all there is to know about the Bard. He has an outstanding knowledge of Shakespeare’s catalogue of works, and as such, he is able to analyse their meanings to present a theory that is both interesting and intriguing.
I would certainly recommend this book if you are interested in Elizabethan or Jacobean England, and are a fan of William Shakespeare himself. But…I would also urge you to pick up ‘Who Killed William Shakespeare’ if you have an interest in reading cleverly put together books which are littered with perfectly formed little nuggets of interesting fact!
Simon Andrew Stirling.
Source: ngeminisasson.blogspot.com
