In Shakespeare's Shadow
A Rogue Scholar's Quest to Reveal the True Source Behind the World's Greatest Plays
Grand Central Publishing · Print & ebook · May 3, 2022
The true story of a self-taught sleuth's quest to prove his eye-opening theory about the source of the world's most famous plays, taking readers inside the vibrant era of Elizabethan England as well as the contemporary scene of Shakespeare scholars and obsessives.
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- Who it’s for
- Follow a provocative theory through Tudor court life and the present-day world of Shakespeare scholarship.
- Genres
- Shakespeare Studies, Tudor & Elizabethan Britain, Writers' Lives
- Published
- Grand Central Publishing, May 3, 2022
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Tudor & Elizabethan Britain.
The Know-it-allA. J. Jacobs49% match
The ScapegoatLucy Hughes-Hallett, Harper47% match
Dark RenaissanceStephen Greenblatt65% matchAlso shares Writers' Lives
The Dream FactoryDaniel Swift64% match
How Shakespeare Changed EverythingStephen Marche63% matchAlso shares Shakespeare Studies
Shakespeare's Restless WorldNeil MacGregor62% matchAlso shares Shakespeare Studies
For younger readers: An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason, By Any Other Name, Bard of Avon: the Story of William Shakespeare
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The true story of a self-taught sleuth's quest to prove his eye-opening theory about the source of the world's most famous plays, taking readers inside the vibrant era of Elizabethan England as well as the contemporary scene of Shakespeare scholars and obsessives. What if Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare . . . but someone else wrote him first?
Continue reading
Acclaimed author of The Map Thief, Michael Blanding presents the twinning narratives of renegade scholar Dennis McCarthy and Elizabethan courtier Sir Thomas North. Unlike those who believe someone else secretly wrote Shakespeare, McCarthy argues that Shakespeare wrote the plays, but he adapted them from source plays written by North decades before. In Shakespeare's Shadow alternates between the enigmatic life of North, the intrigues of the Tudor court, the rivalries of English Renaissance theater, and academic outsider McCarthy's attempts to air his provocative ideas in the clubby world of Shakespearean scholarship. Through it all, Blanding employs his keen journalistic eye to craft a captivating drama, upending our understanding of the beloved playwright and his "singular genius." Winner of the 2021 International Book Award in Narrative Non-Fiction
Shakespeare Reframed
Follow a provocative theory through Tudor court life and the present-day world of Shakespeare scholarship.
Come here for
- Elizabethan court intrigue alongside a modern scholar’s challenge to Shakespeare orthodoxy
- A fresh angle on how Shakespeare’s plays may have taken shape
Expect
- Two intertwined narratives, spanning Sir Thomas North and Dennis McCarthy
- A challenge to the idea of Shakespeare’s singular genius
Where it sits
| Shakespeare Studies | 74% |
|---|---|
| Writers' Lives | 52% |
| Tudor & Elizabethan Britain | 48% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Tudor & Elizabethan Britain
- British & Irish Literary Criticism
- Drama Criticism
- Shakespeare Studies
Show all 5 publisher categories
- Playwriting
- Authors
- Michael Blanding
- Publisher
- Grand Central Publishing
- Published
- May 3, 2022
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Tudor & Elizabethan Britain