Shakespeare & Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story (Vintage) [Paperback]

Stanley Wells (Author)

Book Description

Series: Vintage | Publication Date: March 18, 2008

From the dean of Shakespeare studies comes a lively, entertaining work of biography that firmly locates Shakespeare within the hectic, exilarating world in which he lived and worked.Theatre in Shakespeare's day was a growth industry. Everyone knew everyone else, and they all sought to learn, borrow, or steal from one another. Stanley Wells explores the theatre world from behind the scenes, examining how the great actors of the time influenced Shakespeare's work. He writes about the lives and works of the other major writers of the day and discusses Shakespeare's relationships-sometimes collaborative—with each of them. Throughout, Wells shares his vast knowledge of the period, re-creating and celebrating the sheer richness and variety of the social and cultural milieus that gave rise to the greatest writer in our language.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A lively and highly entertaining introduction to Shakespeare's professional world." —The New York Times“[Wells] sets out with elegance and ease to chronicle Shakespeare's relationships with his fellow workers, that remarkable collection of actors and playwrights without whom there would not have been a golden age of English drama-or, Wells vigorously argues, Shakespeare as we know him.” —The Atlantic Monthly“Entertaining. . . . Highly readable. . . . Pulling Shakespeare back down among the mortals-especially entertaining ones such as Marlowe and Jonson-is a worthy undertaking.” —Richmond Times Dispatch

About the Author

Stanley Wells is the author of Shakespeare: For All Time, chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham, general editor of the Penguin and Oxford editions of Shakespeare's works and co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. He lieves in England.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (March 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307280535
• ISBN-13: 978-0307280534
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stanley Wells, described by Roy Hattersley as "Our greatest authority on Shakespeare's life and work," is Chairman of the Trustees of Shakespeare's Birthplace, Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies of the University of Birmingham, and Honorary Emeritus Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. He is the author and editor of many books including The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works, 2nd Edition (OUP 2005); The Oxford Dictionary of Shakespeare (OUP, 2003); and Shakespeare in the Theatre (OUP, 1997).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare & Co - A fine read, May 9, 2008

By 

Antonio Loret de Mola - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Shakespeare & Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story (Vintage) (Paperback)

I have greatly enjoyed this book. It is a quick and insightful read full of interesting information about the times in which Shakespeare and his contempories lived. A vivid and thoroughly enjoyable book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice supplement to round out Shakespeare reading, August 30, 2009

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MT57 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare & Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story (Vintage) (Paperback)

The author is the general editor of the Penguin and Oxford editions of Sheakespeare's works and co-editor the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. So he is very steeped in the context in which Shakespeare worked and obviously dedicated to that work. Yet this book is written in a non-pedantic fashion, thankfully. It begins with two chapters about the theatrical scene at the time and the actors who were prominent on the stage. Those were a little slow, for me. Then, the book picked up speed as it began presenting short biographies of other playwrights of the time, often showing connections and shared experiences with Shakespeare, and how their work influenced or was influenced by Shakespeare, although their lives are independently interesting. These men led dicey lives given the political environment, the plague, alcohol and the disreputable image of the theater as a career. The most well known of these men were Marlowe and Ben Jonson, although I appreciated learning about the careers of John Fletcher and Thomas Middleton, with whom Shakespeare collaborated in his later years. The book's discussion of the collaborative efforts included both textual analysis of which co-author was responsible for various passages, and also sketches a rather poignant portrait of Shakespeare in his later years as it prompts speculation as to why the greatest dramatist in history shifted to the collaborative mode - was it declining physical health? Creative exhaustion? A change of public or patrons' tastes? THe book does not directly speak to those issues but definitely provokes thought on them. Also, the book implicitly makes a strong case for Shakespeare himself being the author of his own plays and not a front man for another's, as (a) the childhoods of his contemporaries all bear great similarity to his, undermining the thesis that someone with Shakespeare's background could not have acquired the requisite skills to write his greatest plays and (b) despite all the authors who crossed paths with him and might have had many reasons to reveal or hint at the inauthenticity of Shakespeare's work, there appears no hint of that in this telling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Summer Read, June 17, 2008

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P. Hooper (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shakespeare & Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story (Vintage) (Paperback)

There isn't much new research in this compact recounting of the lives of the playwrights, but it is a pleasant summer reading experience, nonetheless.