Shakespeare's Professional Career

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Literature & Fiction

Theatre historian Peter Thomson tells the story of Shakespeare's career as an actor and playwright in the business of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. Thomson follows Shakespeare from Stratford to London, explaining how acting companies were formed, how patronage worked and how plague, politics and rival playhouses shaped what he wrote. Year by year, he shows how the plays reflect their times. Illustrations from museums, libraries and great houses show the world in which Shakespeare worked.

Recommended by 1 person

• Paul Graham: “Like most really good books, it covers much more than its title implies.”