Bruce Montague

The Book of Shakespearian Useless Information (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

This book commemorates the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death on 23 April 1616. Four centuries later, sales of his works are second only to the Bible. Yet, in common with the authors of the Holy Book, little is known about the poet and playwright, and the few facts that have emerged over the course of several hundred years are largely speculative - when they aren't complete b*llocks.

An entry from the diary written by the Revd John Ward, vicar of Stratford-upon-Avon from 1662 to 1681, is instructive, for he recorded tales passed on to him by people who had known Shakespeare. In one, he mentions that 'the Bard' held his fifty-second birthday party at New Place in Stratford and that 'Shakespeare, [the poet Michael] Drayton and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting, and it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a feavour there contracted.' But if the date of his death is known, the actual day of his birth remains conjecture. As does so much else . . .

This amusing but instructive book assembles many of the legends, the lies, the imputations, and a host of uncommon facts from the late Tudor and early Jacobean period, loosely arranged in chronological order to establish William Shakespeare in his literary and historical setting. In doing so, it shows us the man and his time, thereby illuminating the greatest playwright who ever lived.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: John Blake
• Seitenzahl: 300
• Altersempfehlung: ab 13 Jahre
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. März 2016
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781786060815
• Artikelnr.: 44928053

Autorenporträt

After National Service attached to 656 Squadron, RAF, in Malaya, Bruce Montague trained at the RADA. In his early twenties, he joined the Old Vic where he appeared in several plays with Vivien Leigh. He has acted in over 300 TV productions but is probably best known for his five-year run in the popular BBC sitcom Butterflies as Wendy Craig's would-be lover, Leonard. More recently he returned to the theatre in musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof with Topol at the Palladium, Oliver! (as Mr Brownlow - three years at the Palladium), and Phantom of the Opera (two years at Her Majesty's). His latest TV appearance was as a guest star in New Tricks, and he will play Flo Ziegfeld in the West End production of Funny Girl, the first revival of the musical for fifty years. He has written several plays for the theatre and a number of scripts for the BBC, as well as screenplays, and he has written the lyrics and libretto for new musical, The Mistress, based on the scandalous affair between Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton. His other books (all published by John Blake) include Wedding Bells and Chimney Sweeps, Birds, Bees and Educated Fleas, and The Book of Royal Useless Information, which he co-wrote with the late Noel Botham. He lives in Hove and has been married for fifty-three years to the actress Barbara Latham.