Customer Reviews

Roaring Boys: Shakespeare's Rat Pack

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Judith Cook has distilled an enormous amount of research on Shakespeare and theatre in Elizabethan London into a clear and readable account.

Cook provides a good sketch of the known facts not only of Shakespeare's life, but of all his fellow playwrights, the University Wits, Marlowe and Jonson. The emerging new plays are covered, as well as their reception, the experience of theatre-going and day-to-day existence in bustling Renaissance London, all the while holding the linear narrative thread of Shakespeare in particular.

Cook gives just enough detail, without weighing the reader down. A great introduction to all the playwrights and the playwriting environment, and can be recommended as a valuable springboard before delving into in-depth research with other books. It was a delightful read, highly recommended for undergraduate students of English, theatre majors, and the Renaissance reader.