'Fluent and witty . . . confident . . . highly readable' Kathryn Hughes GUARDIAN
'Brilliant - so vivid and so sharp fantastically clever and consistently fascinating'
KATHERINE RUNDELL author of Super-Infinite Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler
and more complex than you might think . . . Shakespeare's work was profoundly influenced by
the queer culture of his time - much of it totally integrated into mainstream society. From a
relentless schooling in Latin and Greek homoeroticism to a less formal education on the
streets and in smoky taverns from the gender-bending of the early comedies to the
astonishingly queer literary scene that nurtured Shakespeare's sonnets this is a story of
artistic development and of personal crisis. Straight Acting is a surprising portrait of
Shakespeare's queer lives - his own and those in his plays and poems. It is a journey back in
time and through Shakespeare's England revealing a culture that both endorsed and supressed
same-sex desire. It is a call to stop making Shakespeare act straight and to recognise how
queerness powerfully shaped the life and career of the world's most famous playwright.
'Magisterial and saucy . . . This fresh account kickstarts the queer canon of English
literature: Shakespeare won't go back in the closet again' EMMA SMITH author of This Is
Shakespeare 'Engrossing enlightening and hugely entertaining' SARAH WATERS author of
Fingersmith
