This engaging and fresh biography begins by examining how Shakespeare's life turns into myth so
comfortably as to seduce even the most sceptical scholar. The early departure the late return.
Public success private loss. A twilight of plays about family reunions a death at home in the
biggest house in town the one he walked by as a schoolboy and eyed with envy or at least
ambition. Shakespeare led an orbital life everything returned to where it began. He even had
the dramatic good sense to die on his birthday. One of the appealing dynamics of the
Shakespeare myth is the contrast of his humble beginnings and his lofty achievements
persuading us that genius might blossom anywhere. William Shakespeare: A Brief Life honours
these myths but also explores some of the mysteries: why Shakespeare left Stratford who he
ran with in London why he put down his pen and at last came home again. Ultimately the book
explores the compelling contrast between the mere fifty two years Shakespeare lived with the
prolonged after lives of his work and his story which show no sign of ending.
