William Shakespeare: the Mystery of the World's Greatest Playwright

Rupert Christiansen (author)

Short Books, UK: 2003; 80pp

ISBN: 1904095348

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

Another in the Who Was...? series, this brief biography is written in conversational language that will appeal to inexperienced non-fiction readers, as well as making the text easy to read aloud.

Less detailed than the Dead Famous version, this short book nevertheless gives a clear outline of Shakespeare's birth, early years, career as an actor and playwright, and touches on the mystery that surrounds the great man's life and identity. Twenty pages dedicated to the various theories about the ‘true creator' of the many famous plays allows more detail than is found in other such references for younger readers, and includes some of the rather confused and contorted ‘evidence' quoted by such theorists.

Much emphasis is placed on how little is truly known about William Shakespeare, a fascinating mystery given the high regard in which his writing was held even in his own times. This light and very readable text should serve to whet the appetite of readers who are just beginning to recognise the name of the man who had such a huge impact on English language and literature.