Mrs. Shakespeare The Complete Works [Paperback]

Robert Nye (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin (1993)
• ASIN: B001AGXX2U
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare as "never before"!, February 22, 2001

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Hardcover)

Ah--a clever, clever book, indeed! Robert Nye's "Mrs. Shakespeare" is just that. In this very readable, witty, and enjoyable book, Nye's "central character" (Anne Hathaway) reveals to us the "real" William Shakespeare! Written some seven years after the Bard's death, the book draws heavily upon heretofore "unpublished" comments/thoughts/reactions by his widow. No matter.

Remember, this is fiction. And while we are not comparing Nye's work "to a summer's day," it is magical in its intent. Nye is quite the scholar, although that seems disguised as he flippantly carries us through Anne's memoirs ("the only happily married couple in all my husband's works are called Macbeth"). Of course, as "Shakespearean gospel," there will be the critics and non-believers. Again, no matter. It's fiction. So a little (well, all right, a lot) of leeway should be granted. Regardless of your devotion (or not) to Shakespeare, this take is still a good one to read. That's not to say it isn't intellectually challenging, and perhaps the more you know about Shakespeare, the more you are likely to catch all the allusions tossed--sometimes willy-nilly-at the reader! ([e-mail])

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Intriguing, November 14, 2002

By 

Jennifer Smith (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is factually based and yet entertaining at the same time. Mrs. Shakespeare has a way of storytelling that the Bard himself would envy. Not only does she present facts about their life together, she presents them in a way that relates to all people. Who hasn't felt jealousy when their spouse puts work above them? Who isn't angry when they lose a child and have no one to talk to about it? This book is not so much a story of William Shakespeare, but a story of how his wife sees him. Robert Nye does an excellent job of letting us see the other side. We hear about Mr. Shakespeare from his wife, the woman who knows him best. The woman least likely to sugar coat it. We learn about his life in London, who the sonnets were really written for, and the mystery of the second best bed. This book is entertaining and intriguing. I recommend this book to people not only interested in Shakespeare's life, but also interested in thinking about their own life in a new way.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Things Are Better Left to the Imagination, May 20, 2005

By 

book worm (library bookstacks) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Hardcover)

This book was a little bit Too Much Information. I'm not exactly interested in Shakespeare's sex life.... I'm really wanting to give it 3 stars, except that OK, it could explain some things about Shakepeare and perhaps his writing.

I did enjoy reading from Mrs. Shakespeare's point of view, as Robert Nye presents it in his book. It was funny and clever, as well as a fresh breath of air. I could see why perhaps London was not to her liking... It was interesting to gain a different perspective on Shakepseare through her eyes and on daily and family life in Stratford.

An OK book that reads pretty quickly.