The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Name: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Peter Levi
ISBN: 9781483086187

Author: Peter Levi

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Unabridged: 18 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

Published: 06/01/2013

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Historical Biography

Synopsis

This authoritative and extremely readable biography is the first since the Victorian Age to pay full attention to Shakespeare’s life and times and their numerous subtle connections to his works. Peter Levi emphasizes the background of Shakespeare’s life: the local and national events that shaped his experiences, his family and friends, and the Elizabethan people with whom he shared his life and populated his plays. Bringing together new research and new discoveries and reexamining the famous legends about Shakespeare, Levi uses the writings of modern historians to shed light on the poet’s life. This valuable work will be the definitive life of Shakespeare for many years to come.

About Peter Levi

Peter Levi (1931–2000) was professor of poetry at the University of Oxford from 1984 to 1989. A poet and student of Latin and Greek, he wrote and edited over forty books, including a history of Greek literature and celebrated biographies of Lear, Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, and Horace.

About Wanda McCaddon

Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom on March 16, 2022

This is a fascinating, detailed history of The Bard's life and career. Wow, he accomplished so much and died when he was only 52. What have I done? One doesn't need to be be an expert on the plays to appreciate this work of scholarship. There is much context of English history and how it crept into h......more

Goodreads review by Patricia on March 15, 2011

Fantastic insights into Shakespeare. Did you know he had twins that died - a boy named Romeo? This explored how his life shaped his writing.......more

Goodreads review by Michael on November 16, 2019

I could go on for pages, but this book isn't worth the trouble. It begins well. Written before Stephen Greenblatt's atrocious biography, Levi says he will not make the mistake Greenblatt will later make of finding Shakespeare's life in his works. Quite right, too. Nobody did that back then. This lea......more

Goodreads review by Rob on January 12, 2010

A very good biography I read during my collegiate obsession with Shakespeare (not that there's anything wrong with that).......more

Quotes

“The author introduces convincing and revolutionary information, which will fundamentally change modern views of Shakespeare, his time, his life and literary works.” Professor Kurt Otten, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Heidelberg, Germany