books review

Jonathan Bate

Edinburgh International Book Festival/ Lived Lives

The subject of Shakespeare has been so thoroughly explored over the years that you sometimes wonder why scholars still bother writing about him, when it must be such a struggle to come up with anything new. Jonathan Bate clearly believes there's still life in the old bard yet, however, and embarks on an unexpectedly lively discussion about lesser known aspects of his life, gleaning evidence from apparently mundane historical documents such as legal records and birth certificates to paint a picture of the playwright within his social surroundings. We learn, for example, that Shakespeare's dad was bankrupted by the Elizabethan version of the credit crunch, while Bate also sets out to debunk popular biographical myths in this scholarly but accessible event.

27 Aug, 5.00pm

published: Sep-2009

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