Product Description

In 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster – it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine – a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry – but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist’s famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare’s life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure and King Lear.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3978 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Peter Ackroyd, The Times
'Nicholl has brought to life an aspect of Shakespeare's career that has been less exhaustively studied than most, and for that reason alone his book is worthy of praise. The detail is delicious. It is almost prodigal. The Lodger is a triumph of reconstruction.

Jonathan Bate, Sunday Telegraph, Book of the Year
'The Lodger easily outboxed and outfoxed all other contenders in an exceptionally busy year for books about Shakespeare.'

Tim Martin, Daily Telegraph
'A fresh and convincing perspective on this most perplexing of cold cases...Such a completely engrossing mixture of intelligent analysis and intuited possibility makes The Lodger not only the best kind of detective story, but one of the most rewarding books of the year.'