On a recent trip to the Great River Shakespeare Festival, I failed to follow my motto: Semper Oportet te Librum Adducere (Always Bring a Book). Fortunately, there was a lovely used bookstore in downtown Winona—Chapter 2 Books, for those of you keeping score. And, since Winona is a Shakespeare town, there were lots of Shakespeare-related books to choose from.
I had read many of the ones on the shelves, but the bookseller pointed me to a couple of boxes of Shakespeare books that hadn't been categorized. In it, I found a book by Stanley Wells that I didn't know existed.
Shakespeare and Co. comprises a terrific set of biographical sketches about some of Shakespeare's contemporaries. It's marvelous because it combines the thorough and brilliant scholarship of one of the profession's finest minds and deepest thinkers with an enjoyable and comprehensible delivery.
You should read the book in its entirety, but, in an attempt to get you to do just that, let me provide you an extract. This section deals with Thomas Middleton—and, more specifically, with his play The Revenger's Tragedy, written and printed after Shakespeare's Hamlet was written and printed.
Stanley Wells' Shakespeare and Co. provides delightful contexts for Shakespeare's life and work. It reminds us that he didn't work in a vacuum or an ivory tower but among these other amazing dramatists in a vibrant theatre culture.
Click below to purchase the book from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
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