1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

Professor James Shapiro, who teaches at Columbia University, is the author of Rival Playwrights, Shakespeare and the Jews, and Oberammergau: The Troubling Story of the World's Most Famous Passion Play.

[A] brilliant study, which carefully unpacks a single year in Shakespeare's life ... The audacious focus on just one year pays off magnificently, and this solid book isn't a page too long. -- Phil Baker Sunday Times 20060326 By focusing on a single, extraordinary year in his artistic development, Shapiro has produced a far richer, more intimate portrait of our greatest author than you're likely to find in any cradle-to-grave biography. Seamlessly weaving colourful history with biography and lit crit, it's both erudite and accessible - highly deserving of its place on this year's Samuel Johnson Prize long list. -- Hephzibah Anderson Daily Mail 20060331 ...a wonderfully fresh understanding of [Shakespeare's] work through the social and political background of that interesting year. Sunday Telegraph 20060302 This is gripping and illuminating. Telegraph 20060401 [A] fascinating and entirely believable portrait of a talented workaholic ... Shapiro's informed enthusiasm and energetic prose is addictive. Another 17 volumes, please, taking us up to Shakespeare's shuffling off his mortal coil. -- Ian Pindar Guardian 20060408 Brave is the biographer who takes [Shakespeare] on, braver still James Shapiro, who's confined himself to just one year in his life. it's a masterstroke ... Shapiro tells you the sounds, the smells, the news and the work ... the man himself remains a mystery, but the air he breathed buzzes with life. -- Catherine Shoard The Scotsman 20060422 James Shapiro arrives at an interpretation of [Shakespeare] and his work that is unparalleled in its lucidity and originality. It's a breathtaking feat of literary detection. -- Simon Shaw Mail on Sunday 20060416 Packed with anecdotal and historical evidence, Shapiro's book will appeal both to Shakespearean scholars and novices alike. -- Kevin Cronin Irish Times 20060429