Nine Lives of William Shakespeare

Abstract

Despite remaining a fascinating figure of literature, scholars and historians alike still know few concrete facts about who Shakespeare was and how he lived. By exploring facts, literature tradition and imaginative perceptions, this text details the life of Shakespeare through nine different possibilities. Holderness’ biography of Shakespeare considers facts and fiction about Shakespeare with a new outlook in order to make informed speculations about his possible life. This information is extracted from the documentary record and from his biography. The sections of this book all features critical essays specifying the biographical facts whilst illustrating the numerous interpretations, running alongside a fictional narrative. These narrative utilise several styles such as, short stories, bogus historical documents and magic-realist fables. This text acts as a new way to re-capture the fascination with Shakespeare and his plays.