An original and provocative study of the evolution of Shakespeare »s image, building on the success of Duncan-Jones » acclaimed biography, Shakespeare: An Ungentle Life. Taking a broadly chronological approach, she investigates Shakespeare »s changing reputation, as a man, an actor and a poet, both from his own viewpoint and from that of his contemporaries. Many different categories of material are explored, including printed books, manuscripts, literary and non-literary sources. Rather than a biography, the book is an exploration with biographical elements. The change in public opinion in Shakespeare »s time is quite startling: Henry Chettle attacked him as an »upstart Crow » in 1592, an attack from which Shakespeare sought to defend himself; and yet by the time of the First Folio in 1623 he had become the »Sweet Swan of Avon! » and was fast becoming the national treasure he remains today.
This engaging and fascinating study brings the politics and fashions of Shakespeare »s literary and theatrical world vividly to life.