1599. Un año en la vida de William Shakespeare

It is impossible to discuss Shakespeare's works independently of his era, just as it is impossible to understand the experiences of the society in which the celebrated playwright lived without considering his thought. In 1599, Shakespeare wrote four of his most famous plays —Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and Hamlet— while the Elizabethans sent the army to crush a rebellion in Ireland, withstood a Spanish naval threat, and invested in a fledgling East India Company as they awaited the successor to Queen Elizabeth and flocked to London's theaters, including the recently built Globe. In this well-researched essay, James Shapiro illustrates, with an engaging literary style, Shakespeare's astonishing achievements and the experiences of the Elizabethans during that crucial year in British history. He combines the political events and intrigues of the time with a superb evocation of Shakespeare's working methods as an actor, playwright, and businessman.