Shakespeare's Wife - by Germaine Greer (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Germaine Greer, feminist scholar and provocateur, has now come to Anne Hathaway's rescue. . . . Where most scholars have sifted through the few pebbles of evidence and imagined one scenario, Ms. Greer has sifted through the same material and found a love story." -Wall Street Journal

"Fascinating. . . . Greer meticulously exposes the sexist biases underlying depictions of Anne Hathaway. . . and re-creates in lavish detail the material realities of women's lives in 16th century England." -Entertainment Weekly

In Shakespeare's Wife, Germaine Greer boldly breaks new ground, combining literary-historical techniques with documentary evidence about life in Stratford, to reset the story of Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway. With deep insight and intelligence, Greer offers daring and thoughtful new theories about the farmer's daughter who married England's greatest playwright, painting a vivid portrait of a remarkable woman.

Little is known about Ann Hathaway; a great deal, none of it complimentary, has been assumed. The omission of her name from Shakespeare's will has been interpreted as evidence that she was nothing more than an unfortunate mistake from which Shakespeare did well to distance himself.

While Shakespeare is above all the poet of marriage--repeatedly in his plays, constant wives redeem unjust and deluded husbands--scholars persist in positing the worst about the writer's own spouse. In Shakespeare's Wife, Greer has written a passionate and perceptive work of first-rate scholarship that reclaims this maligned figure from generations of scholarly neglect and misogyny, and poses bold questions and opens new fields of investigation and research.

From the Back Cover

Little is known about Ann Hathaway, the wife of England's greatest playwright; a great deal has been assumed, none of it complimentary. In Shakespeare's Wife, Germaine Greer boldly breaks new ground, reclaiming this much maligned figure from generations of scholarly neglect and misogyny. With deep insight and intelligence, she offers daring and thoughtful new theories about the farmer's daughter who married Britain's immortal Bard, painting a vivid portrait of a truly remarkable woman.

Review Quotes

"Intriguing . . . A portrait of life in Stratford circa 1600 on almost every level and in every aspect." - Booklist

"A richly textured account...Greer's theory about Shakespeare's relation with his wife is original and persuasive...She reminds us of facts other critics have ignored." - Marilyn French, Publishers Weekly (Boxed Signature Review)

"Lively, rigorous, fiercely imagined...an ingenious new book...Germaine Greer [has] both a polemicist's vision and a scholar's patience....She has opened up the story; she has laid bare the fantasies, uprooted the assumptions...Riveting" - Katie Roiphe, New York Times Book Review

"Greer is fascinating...on the lives of ordinary Elizabethan women...the reader has to be impressed by her rich command of the plays and poems, her argumentative gusto and her tireless quest to investigate Shakespearean legends...SHAKESPEARE'S WIFE is a rousing defense of the wives of the poets." - Elaine Showalter, Washington Post Book World

"A riveting read...Not only Greer's scholarship but her sympathy and her imagination are fully engaged." - Victoria Glendinning

"Illuminating...Greer's book opens up new perspectives in offering alternative hypotheses to many of the all-too-easy assumptions about Shakespeare's wife and his relationship to her...This is an important book in the challenges that it poses to received opinion. It will have a permanent and beneficial effect on attempts to tell the story of Shakespeare's life." - Stanley Wells, New York Review of Books

"Germaine Greer, feminist scholar and provocateur, has now come to Ann Hathaway's rescue...Where most scholars have sifted through the few pebbles of evidence and imagined one scenario, Ms. Greer has sifted through the same material and found a love story." - Cynthia Crossen, Wall Street Journal (Feature)

"Fascinating...Greer meticulously exposes the sexist biases underlying depictions of Ann...and re-creates in lavish detail the material realities of women's lives in 16th century England." - Entertainment Weekly

"With a dazzling display of erudition and lively prose, SHAKESPEARE'S WIFE is a delight to read and a breath of fresh air for those interested in the Bard's life... Even those who disagree with Greer's interpretation should find SHAKESPEARE'S WIFE stimulating. Her radical exploration of Ann Hathaway is a compelling triumph." - Roger Bishop, BookPage

"[Greer] just galloped onto the field to defend the honor of the most reviled woman in the Shakespeare Industry. In SHAKESPEARE'S WIFE, Greer throws down her own explanations for the verse, reinforcing them with battalions of research. Whole stretches of Greer's book come across like Mozart--pure pleasure. . . . But Greer isn't making music, she's defending a wronged woman." - Laura Shapiro, Slate

"Lively, rigorous, fiercely imagined...an ingenious new book..." -- Katie Roiphe, New York Times Book Review

"Fascinating...Greer meticulously exposes the sexist biases underlying depictions of Ann...and re-creates in lavish detail the material realities of women's lives in 16th century England." -- Entertainment Weekly

"A riveting read...Not only Greer's scholarship but her sympathy and her imagination are fully engaged." -- Victoria Glendinning

"A richly textured account...Greer's theory about Shakespeare's relation with his wife is original and persuasive...She reminds us of facts other critics have ignored." -- Marilyn French, Publishers Weekly (Boxed Signature Review)

"Intriguing . . . A portrait of life in Stratford circa 1600 on almost every level and in every aspect." -- Booklist