The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street - Softcover

Nicholl, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141023740 ISBN 13: 9780141023748

Publisher: Penguin, 2008

Synopsis

In 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster – it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine – a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry – but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist’s famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare’s life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure and King Lear.

About this title

Review:

'A fresh and convincing perspective on this most perplexing of cold cases...Such a completely engrossing mixture of intelligent analysis and intuited possibility makes The Lodger not only the best kind of detective story, but one of the most rewarding books of the year.' -- Tim Martin, Daily Telegraph

'Nicholl has brought to life an aspect of Shakespeare's career that has been less exhaustively studied than most, and for that reason alone his book is worthy of praise. The detail is delicious. It is almost prodigal. The Lodger is a triumph of reconstruction. -- Peter Ackroyd, The Times

'Nicholl's latest work is a triumph and ranks among the finest books ever written about Shakespeare's life.' -- James Shapiro, Guardian

'The Lodger easily outboxed and outfoxed all other contenders in an exceptionally busy year for books about Shakespeare.' -- Jonathan Bate, Sunday Telegraph, Book of the Year

'The Lodger is rich with unexpected historical delights. This fascinating book takes tiny details of the lived lives and makes the whole scene swirl before us.' -- Daniel Swift, Financial Times

About the Author:

Charles Nicholl is a historian, biographer and travel writer. His books include The Reckoning (winner of the James Tait Black prize for biography and the Crime Writers’ Association ‘Gold Dagger’ award for non-fiction), A Cup of News: the life of Thomas Nashe, Shakespeare and his contemporaries (Natural Portrait Gallery insights series) and Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa (winner of the Hawthornden Prize). His most recent book was the acclaimed biography, Leonardo da Vinci: The Flights of the Mind, which has been published in 17 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has lectured in Britain, Italy and the United States.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0141023740
• ISBN 13: 9780141023748
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 378