Shakespeare Books

Stevie Davies has written the only critical appraisal of "Twelfth Night" that is as delightful to read as the play itself! Her prose is lyrical and compelling; it resonates musically. She explores the characters' thoughts and emotions in great depth and never wastes time decrying their limitations. An observant, witty and compassionate critic, she preserves the delicate magic of wistful love and homesickness of "Twelfth Night".

The Friedmans are two of the greatest figures in cryptographic history. In this book they demolish the claims of those who argue that the immortal works of Shakespeare were carefully written or printed to hide secret messages, most notably that someone other than Shakespeare wrote the works attributed to him. (In fact, the Friedmans met while working for one such crackpot; see David Kahn's _The Codebreakers_ for the story.) They do this with unfailing wit and good humor, and this book is fun to read as well as educational.

Alas, human nature being what it is, the book has not put an end to the bogus claims. People are still coming up with alleged ciphers that churn out endless strings of gibberish, substrings of which are chosen--easy enough to find when you allow thousands of variant spellings, backwards occurrences, tossing out inconvenient letters as alleged nulls or errors, and fudging the application of your cipher when it proves convenient--as evidence of a secret author of the works of Shakespeare endlessly hiding his name in the plays and poetry. Like urban legends, conspiracy theories, and the poor, what Kahn calls "the pathology of cryptology" evidently is always with us.

I am disappointed to note that this book is no longer in print. Though it was published in 1989, it has not, in fact, 'aged' in any important way. It is an extremely useful reference tool to readers of Shakespeare who want to find out what is meant by various conceptual terms they are likely to - or at least may - come across whenever Shakespeare is discussed in various traditional (or not so traditional) works of scholarship. For example, any such readers will at some stage encounter words like 'tragedy' or 'comedy'. Usually, when these terms are employed, they are not defined: some common understanding is assumed of 'what we all know'. But in practice 'tragedy' does NOT mean the same at all times, or in all minds, and Trussler offers excellent, clear, descriptive accounts of how the term has been used. I feel strongly that I would have benefited greatly from having this book at my disposal when around eighteen and a first-year university student, but also at later times. In fact I consult it pretty frequently even now (in my sixties), because it contains a wealth of information not easily found elsewhere, and certainly not in one convenient volume. Furthermore, although the author does not want the book to be read consecutively (the items are alphabetically arranged), it is wonderful to dip into and to learn from. Heartily recommended! Joost Daalder

...Undeterred, I nevertheless wish to recommend it. It should, in fact, be in every university library at least, and most scholars would benefit greatly from reading it. I have myself bought a copy, and am very pleased with it. The contributors are on the whole very much in the forefront of Shakespeare scholarship, and write about their subject with great authority and acumen. Each scholar surveys an area of work on Shakespeare, which creates a sensible division of labour, and allows the individual concerned not only to outline the major developments of recent times, but to do so analytically and critically, so that the reader not only finds out what has happened, but also what at least one skilled reader has to say about it. Future volumes will adopt a similar approach, so that over time we should get a pretty full picture of developments in Shakespeare studies in recent years. As noone can - or would indeed be happy to - read ALL work on Shakespeare, even as it appears, it will remain necessary for all of us to receive guidance from informed scholars who have each intelligently read at least a well-defined PORTION of it over a number of years. That is the guidance which this book provides, and eminently so. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)

The following was taken off the book's flyleaf: If Shakespeare's last plays--Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, and Henry VIII--are to be neither debunked nor idealized but taken seriously on their own terms, they must be examined within the traditions and conventions of romance. Howard Felperin defines this relatively neglected literary mode and locates these plays within it. But, as he shows, romance was not simply an established genre in which Shakespeare worked at both the beginning and end of his career but a mode of perceiving the world that pervades and shapes his entire work. The last plays are examined to answer such questions as: How does Shakespeare raise to a higher power the conventions of romance available to him, particularly those of the native medieval drama? How does he bring us to accept these elements of romance? Above all, how does romance, the mode in which the imagination enjoys its freest expression, become the vehicle, not of beautiful, escapist fantasy but of moral truth? Howard Felperin is a member of the English Department at Yale University. "No more complete synthesis of the whole subject of romance in Shakespeare has ever been available. Professor Felperin shows great soundness of judgment and acuteness of perception. What he has to say is freshly put, and his book is a solid and splendid contribution."--David Bevington

This book by Harriet Joseph is excellent. It was a joy to read. It combines her obvious love for Shakespeare with immense knowledge on John Hall. If you are a fan of Shakespeare, this book will be a welcomed addition to your library. It will not disappoint. I promise.

'Shame in Shakespeare discovers at the heart of the great tragedies a confrontation with the most complex and disconcerting of human emotions. This groundbreaking study transforms one's understanding of works of which
one rarely expects to learn anything new. It does so not only because of the originality of its subject, but also because it owes nothing to modishness and everything to the critical acuity of its author.'

This is an insightful and illuminating work on the subject, which is very interesting by itself. The author has conducted extensive research in the field, and the narrative is very well written indeed.

A joy to read.

A provocative and intriguing read. Throw out all old notions about the Bard's portrayal of Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Clearly the product of extensive research and intense thought. Should be required for any course on the play or Shakespeare generally, or for anyone who would pretend to speak on the subjects with authority.

John Gross' work is very readable, yet also very scholarly. We learn about the real situation of Jews in Venice, the real role of "usury" (despite official attitudes to it) in Elizabethan England. The ties to traditional dark Medieval myths about Jews are explained. Also we are told about famous performances of Shylock, including by Jewish actors. Anyone interested in the stage, Shakespeare, great characters, or Jews and the myths about them ... will want to own this book.