Shakespeare: The Life, the Works, the Treasures Book

Hailed as the world's greatest playwright, William Shakespeare has captured the hearts and minds of more audiences than any other. No other writer's works are more performed or more often quoted.

Produced in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and beautifully illustrated with both contemporary pictures from Shakespeare's time and photographs of RSC performances, Shakespeare: The Life, the Works, the Treasures brings the poet's life alive. It delves into the likely sources that inspired him to write such masterpieces as The Merchant of Venice, Othello and Macbeth and assesses the influences of subsequent generations of performers who have shown the "infinite variety" with which Shakespeare's work can be adapted for all forms of media. A must for both aficionados and those discovering him for the first time, Shakespeare: The Life, the Works, the Treasures is unique in containing 30 items of removable facsimile memorabilia including:

Shakespeare's baptism record

Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway's marriage bond

King James I's patent giving Shakespeare and his fellow actors the right to perform plays throughout the country

Shakespeare's will

An extract from the First Folio of 1623

Tickets issued by the Royal Shakespeare Company to the opening of the Swan Theatre

Shakespeare: The Life, the Works, the Treasures is the ultimate tribute to the "noble memory" of the world's greatest writer.

Library Journal

This lavish coffee-table book celebrates Shakespeare, his world, his plays, their later reception, and the subsequent presence of his work not only on the stage but in film and other media. Illustrated with color pictures and photographs, it also contains 30 items of removable facsimile memorabilia: e.g., copies of the playwright's baptism record, an extract from the First Folio of 1623, Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway's marriage bond, and the movie poster for Laurence Olivier's 1944 screen production of Henry V . There is also an audio CD of selections from the plays, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, which coproduced this text. An extended essay by Alexander (fellow, Shakespeare Inst., Univ. of Birmingham), who has written numerous books on the bard, helps pull it all together. More than just another Shakespeare book; recommended especially for public libraries as a valuable resource to teachers or as a gift for literate friends.-T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah, GA