Biographies of the Bard

[kellyrfineman]

There are quite a number of biographies of the life of Shakespeare, and even more commentaries on his life and work. I am not saying that these are the best resources for learning about Shakespeare and his work; I am merely saying that these are the ones to which I referred, even though I did not manage to finish all of them. Several of them are

Comments

[katsie]

My favorite reference book for Shakespeare is Penguin's The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard by Norrie Epstein. It covers everything from some basic biographic information (including a brief foray into the authorship question), to a look at the Elizabethan stage (boys as girls, the excavation of The Globe), all the plays (broken down by types - Histories, Comedies, Tragedies, and the Problem plays), the sonnets (and who they were written to), ending with a discussion of spin-offs (music, films, parodies, etc.), all written in an easily accessible manner with humorous footnotes and sidebars, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and other Shakespeare afficianados sprinkled throughout. It started a series of "Friendly" books for Penguin that includes a Friendly Austen and a Friendly Dickens (both also excellent reads and resources).

[kellyrfineman]

I've not seen the "Friendly" books - I'll have to look for them!