1599
A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
by James Shapiro
There was a varied response to this book though with general agreement that it was not an easy read with some of us finding it at least challenging and others finding difficulty keeping track of events.
Nonetheless it does provide us with an illuminating historical insight into the society, religion and politics of the Elizabethan era.
Particularly interesting were the background of events in Ireland and the end of the age of chivalry.
The relationship between the plays and wider society was discussed and we were interested to note that 2 out of 3 Londoners at the time would have seen a play at least once a month.
We agreed that our understanding would benefit from seeing performances of the plays discussed.
NS May 2008
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