The Shakespeare Diaries: A Fictional Autobiography [Hardcover]

J. P. Wearing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

Blending fact with fiction and written in diary form, this unique biography of Shakespeare encapsulates his life like never before—from his views on daily events to vivid impressions of the Elizabethan era and his role within such a world. Delightfully whimsical, this distinctive life story provides answers to questions such as What was Shakespeare thinking while he wrote Hamlet? What did he and Ben Jonson talk about when they were having a drink together? and What might Shakespeare have said to the formidable Elizabeth I? Incorporating fragments of lines and phrases from The Bard’s plays and poems along with fascinating endnotes, this portrait will seize readers with its fresh, offbeat approach to the man and his work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. P. Wearing is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Arizona. He is the author of more than 12 books, including Bernard Shaw and Nancy Astor, G. B. Shaw: An Annotated Bibliography of Writings About Him, and The London Stage. He has held a Guggenheim Fellowship and a four-year research award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He lives in Lynn Haven, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press; First edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595800220
• ISBN-13: 978-1595800220
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, June 27, 2007

By 

Yuri Sobol - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shakespeare Diaries: A Fictional Autobiography (Hardcover)

In The Shakespeare Diaries: A Fictional Autobiography J. P. Wearing combines factual accuracy with the vividness of fiction in a delightful and entertaining book. The lush detail and fascinating context make this "faction," as Wearing describes it, far more stimulating and memorable than non-fiction, while generous annotations lend scholarly authority to this work.



We get to know Shakespeare as a person through his family and friends and through his private aspirations, motives, fears, and ruminations, not to mention his carnal appetites as a gay blade--sure to surprise, if not scandalize. We meet the irrascible Ben Johnson, and we feel death breathing down our collars. Plague, taverns, duels and envy bring Shakespeare's England to life. His discussions with colleagues lend background and depth to the famous plays and characters we know so well. Would that I had had access to Shakespeare's and Nashe's discussions on The Merchant of Venice when I was a student! Although Professor Wearing incorporates many of Shakespeare's own words into his diaries, he has many an interesting muse and beautiful phrase of his own, all carefully presented in authentic Elizabethan and Jacobean English.



I didn't want the book to end and felt sad when it did. I had grown quite fond of Will, and suddenly I missed him. Were the last words of the last entry Shakespeare's or Wearing's? "Little there is in this life that surpasseth the company of good friends."