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North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar's Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard's Work
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18/99
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39/99
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66/99
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About This Book
The true story of a self-taught sleuth's quest to prove his eye-opening theory about the source of the world's most famous plays, taking readers inside the vibrant era of Elizabethan England as well as the contemporary scene of Shakespeare scholars and obsessives. What if Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare . . . but someone else wrote him first? Acclaimed author of The Map Thief, Michael Blanding presents the twinning narratives of renegade scholar Dennis McCarthy and Elizabethan courtier Sir Thomas North. Unlike those who believe someone else secretly wrote Shakespeare, McCarthy argues that Shakespeare wrote the plays, but he adapted them from source plays written by North decades before. In Shakespeare's Shadow alternates between the enigmatic life of North, the intrigues of the Tudor court, the rivalries of English Renaissance theater, and academic outsider McCarthy's attempts to air his provocative ideas in the clubby world of Shakespearean scholarship. Through it all, Blanding employs his keen journalistic eye to craft a captivating drama, upending our understanding of the beloved playwright and his "singular genius." Winner of the 2021 International Book Award in Narrative Non-Fiction
Reviews
"Readers who peruse his lengthy appendix, offering parallel excerpts from North and Shakespeare, can come to their own conclusions ..."
"Bardolators will want to read this book; for others, it's an optional read."
"It's almost as much fun as sitting in a theater."
"Orthodox scholars who simply ignore it do so at the peril of their reputations."
"Shakespeare fans and readers who enjoy the thrill of a good bibliographic treasure hunt will want to check this out."
"Readers not persuaded by McCarthy's theory may still gain from his insights into how guardians of orthodoxy deal with an interloper."
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