Dead Famous: William Shakespeare and His Dramatic Acts

Andrew Donkin (author)

Clive Goddard (illustrations)

Scholastic Children's Books, UK: 2004; 175pp

ISBN: 0439982693

Genres: biography, drama, factual text, literature, non-fiction, information texts

One of the most recent releases in the Dead Famous series, this text gives the reader a surprisingly accurate and concise summary of most aspects of the great playwright's life, including his childhood, education, marriage and the various theories about the seven ‘lost years'.

The cartoon-style illustrations and maps are amusing and echo the often vulgar humour in Shakespeare's own writing, as well as providing clear insights into the society and times in which the Bard lived. The summaries of Shakespeare's best-known plays are humorous in their phrasing but true to the various plots, if somewhat over-simplified. An outline is provided of the ongoing academic argument about Shakespeare's identity and provides profiles of the most popular ‘suspects'. Short lists of some of the many words and phrases that originated in the plays and have since been absorbed into the English language are also included.

This is good fun to read and a great way to introduce readers to the world in which this great writer developed his skills.