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1606

Shakespeare and the Year of Lear
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear delves into a pivotal year in Shakespeare's life, tracing how he transformed an anonymous Elizabethan play into King Lear. Set against the turbulent backdrop of England’s aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, debates over the Union with Scotland, and a plague outbreak, the year also saw Shakespeare creating Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra, masterpieces that captured his era's tensions.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3699
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book will captivate readers interested in Shakespeare, Elizabethan and Jacobean England, and those who appreciate literary biography focused on historical and cultural context.

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The sequel to James Shapiro's multi-award winning bestseller 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare.

The sequel to James Shapiro's multi-award winning bestseller 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear traces Shakespeare's life and times from the autumn of 1605, when he took an old and anonymous Elizabethan play, The Chronicle History of King Leir, and transformed it into his most searing tragedy, King Lear.

The year 1606 proved to be an especially grim period for England, witnessing the bloody aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, divisions over the Union of England and Scotland, and an outbreak of plague. However, it turned out to be an exceptional year for Shakespeare. Unrivalled at identifying the fault-lines of his cultural moment, he went on to complete two other great Jacobean tragedies that spoke directly to these fraught times: Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.

Following the biographical style of 1599, a way of thinking and writing that Shapiro has made his own, 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear promises to be one of the most significant and accessible works on Shakespeare in the decade to come.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780571235797

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 April 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Faber & Faber

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 362g

Pages: 448

About the Author

Professor James Shapiro, who teaches at Columbia University in New York, is the author of Rival Playwrights, Shakespeare and the Jews, and Oberammergau: The Troubling Story of the World's Most Famous Passion Play. 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare won the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize in 2006. His most recent book is Contested Will.

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    In 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare, James Shapiro takes us on an exhilarating journey through a pivotal year in the life of one of history's greatest playwrights. This masterfully crafted narrative delves deeply into the transformative period where Shakespeare evolved from a skilled writer of comedies and histories into a towering literary figure known for his...
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  • Shakespeare in a Divided America
    Excellent. - New Statesman Outstanding. - Irish Times Enthralling. - Guardian Shapiro at his best. - Daily Telegraph From the author of 1599, a fresh perspective on the history of the United States - and a timely reminder of Shakespeare's indelible influence. Shakespeare's position as England's national poet is unquestionable. But as James Shapiro illuminates in this revelatory new history,...
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    First published in 1996, James Shapiro's pathbreaking analysis of the portrayal of Jews in Elizabethan England challenged readers to recognise the significance of Jewish questions in Shakespeare's day. From accounts of Christians masquerading as Jews to fantasies of settling foreign Jews in Ireland, Shapiro's work delves deeply into the cultural insecurities of Elizabethans while illuminating Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock in...
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  • Contested Will
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