Joseph Piercy has written a number of successful books for a range of leading publishers, including Michael O’Mara and The History Press. He is the author of The Story of English, 25 Rules of Grammar and Slippery Tipples amongst many others. He holds a Master of Philosophy degree in English Studies and is a regular contributor to various magazines and journals.Joseph lives in Brighton.

• 1 Introduction 82 'Lost years' 123 'Upstart crow' 144 Becoming the bard 155 One last blow 186 'Our revels now are ended' 207 An unerring eye 228 'Farewell to Folly' 249 Star of poets 2510 All the Globe's a stage 2611 A full house 3012 American visionary 3113 Different spectacles 3414 Makeup concoctions 3515 Set in stone 3716 Hand wringing 3917 Portrait of the bard 4018 Sought-after item 4319 Stellar legacy 4620 Written when? 4821 Origins of Falstaff 5022 Bard of bird fanciers 5223 'Pound of flesh' 5424 Charge of sexism 5725 'Lost' plays 5926 Picture of hysteria 6227 Shrine to the bard 6428 Stage dynasty 6829 First-hand account 7030 Hell-raiser 7231 Public scandal 7332 Disastrous spectacles 7633 Masonic cabal 7834 Opposing factions 8035 The Baconians 8136 Rivers of blood 8437 In and out of favour 8638 Sustained observation 8839 Advance warning 8940 The Oxfordians 9141 Poetic styles 9442 The Marlovians 9543 'Noted weed' 9944 Beloved by Russia 10245 'Vulgar and barbarous' 10546 Toe-curling homage 10647 The silver screen 10948 At each other's throats 11249 Subtle shifts 11350 Five beats to a bar 11551 Heralding a Golden Age 11952 'Loathsome as a toad' 12253 Something borrowed 12554 Shakespeare Trek 12655 Inspiring songwriters 12756 Inspiring wordsmiths 13057 Playwright for all ages 13258 Index 136