Recommended Reading

Shakespeare's Professional  Career

By PETER THOMSON

Thomson discusses Shakespeare as a member of a theatre company in London. A rare book, written by a Shakespeare scholar always conscious of his audience. For a book of this academic quality, it's surprisingly accessible. A very good book. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare's Face 

By STEPHANIE NOLEN

The story of the Sanders portrait, which may be the only portrait painted of Shakespeare in his lifetime. With articles from Stanley Wells, Andrew Gurr, Marjorie Garber, and Jonathan Bate. A fascinating journey. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

History Play 

By RODNEY BOLT

Rodney Bolt sends up the business of Shakespearean biography with History Play, a partly imagined life of Christopher Marlowe. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth

By A.C. BRADLEY

Published in 1904, Bradley's discussion of Shakespeare's tragedies is still relevant. An impassioned defense of the 'Player speech' in Hamlet is a highlight. Bradley takes issue with the then widespread opinion that the speech was a parody of Marlowe's style. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare's Unorthodox Biography 

By DIANA PRICE

Price's critique of the Shakespeare biography tradition is essential reading on the subject of Shakespeare authorship. Buy it Now at Amazon.com 

The Reckoning

By CHARLES NICHOLL

Nicholl's The Reckoning is the definitive account of Marlowe's life and the events which led to the 1593 meeting at Deptford. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

By JAMES SHAPIRO

Shapiro's widely acclaimed 1599 transports the reader into Shakespeare's world at a pivotal moment. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

Will in the World

By STEPHEN GRENBLATT

The eminently readable Shakespeare biography Will in the World. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

The Genius of Shakespeare 

By JONATHAN BATE

Bate's literary biography explores the influence of Marlowe on Shakespeare. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist 

By LUKAS ERNE

Erne challenges the notion that Shakespeare was unconcerned with writing for posterity. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

By THOMAS KUHN

Ushered in a revolution in thought as profound as any of the examples Kuhn discusses. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

God's Secretaries

By ADAM NICHOLSON

Nicholson transports the reader into the midst of the men who created the power and beauty of the enduring King James version of the Bible. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

The Traitor's Wife 

By SUSAN HIGGENBOTHAM

Historical fiction set in the court of Edward II, the ill fated King and subject of the greatest of Marlowe's surviving plays. Buy it Now at Amazon.com

Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Plays

By J.B. STEANE (Editor)

Marlowe's plays stand on their own, regardless of  your position on his authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare's Marlowe

By ROBERT LOGAN

The first thorough examination of Marlowe's influence on Shakespeare in fifty years. This book is not for a general audience. Its intended readers are Shakespeare lecturers needing a reference source for discussions about the literary relationship between the works of Marlowe and Shakespeare. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Inside Out: A Memoir of the Blacklist

By WALTER BERNSTEIN

Bernstein's highly readable account of what it was like trying to survive as a writer while blacklisted. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Hollywood Exile, or How I Learned to Love the Blacklist

By BERNARD GORDON

A left-wing Hollywood writer forced to flee Hollywood in the 1950s to avoid the HUAC, Gordon relates his fascinating life as a blacklisted writer while living abroad. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare & Co. 

By STANLEY WELLS

An introduction to the most famous of Shakespeare's contemporaries. A good discussion of Christopher Marlowe. Mike Rubbo's "Much Ado About Something" is singled out for Wells' censure. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare's Sonnets: Critical Essays 

By JAMES SCHIFFER (Editor)

An anthology of critical thought about Shakespeare's Sonnets. With a comprehensive discussion from editor James Schiffer. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

By SAM SCHOENBAUM

Schoenbaum's biography is the touchstone for all later biographers. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 

By HAROLD BLOOM

Arguably the greatest living Shakespeare critic comments on all of Shakespeare's plays. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Shakespeare & the Poets' War

By JAMES BEDNARZ

Crucial to understanding the literary relationship between Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

The Arden Shakespeare's Sonnets

By KATHERINE DUNCAN JONES (Editor)

Clear, useful commentary from Duncan Jones helps illuminate the Sonnets. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

By STANLEY WELLS and GARY TAYLOR (Editors)

The essential edition of The Complete Works of Shakespeare required for your collection. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

By G.R. HIBBARD (Editor)

Second to none edition of Hamlet. Fully annotated. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.

Searching for Shakespeare 

By TARNYA COOPER

A great reference book for Shakespeare's world. Explores the various images of the man, and presents documentary evidence of the period. Buy it Now at Amazon.com.