Shakespeare's Unorthodox Biography - (Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies) by Diana Price (Hardcover)

About the Book

As the world's greatest author, Shakespeare has attracted attention from scholars and laypersons alike. But more and more people have questioned whether the historical Shakespeare wrote the plays popularly attributed to him. While other books on the subject have argued that some other particular person, such as the Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays, this is the first book in over 80 years to comprehensively revisit the authorship question without an ideological bias, the first to introduce new evidence, and the first to undertake a systematic comparative analysis with other literary biographies. It successfully argues that William Shakespeare was the pen name of an aristocrat, and that William Shakespeare of Stratford was a shrewd entrepreneur, not a dramatist.

Price exposes numerous logical fallacies, contradictions, and sins of omission in the traditional accounts of Shakespeare's whereabouts; his professional activities; his personality profile; the play chronology; autobiographical echoes in the plays; the dramatist's education and cultural sophistication; circumstances of publication of the plays and poetry; and the testimony of his supposed literary colleagues, such as Ben Jonson. New or previously ignored documentation is used to reconstruct Shakespeare's career as a businessman, investor, theater shareholder, real estate tycoon, commodity trader, money-lender, and actor, but not a writer. In fact, Shakespeare is the only alleged writer from his time for whom no contemporaneous literary paper trail survives.

Book Synopsis

As the world's greatest author, Shakespeare has attracted attention from scholars and laypersons alike. But more and more people have questioned whether the historical Shakespeare wrote the plays popularly attributed to him. While other books on the subject have argued that some other particular person, such as the Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays, this is the first book in over 80 years to comprehensively revisit the authorship question without an ideological bias, the first to introduce new evidence, and the first to undertake a systematic comparative analysis with other literary biographies. It successfully argues that William Shakespeare was the pen name of an aristocrat, and that William Shakespeare of Stratford was a shrewd entrepreneur, not a dramatist.

Price exposes numerous logical fallacies, contradictions, and sins of omission in the traditional accounts of Shakespeare's whereabouts; his professional activities; his personality profile; the play chronology; autobiographical echoes in the plays; the dramatist's education and cultural sophistication; circumstances of publication of the plays and poetry; and the testimony of his supposed literary colleagues, such as Ben Jonson. New or previously ignored documentation is used to reconstruct Shakespeare's career as a businessman, investor, theater shareholder, real estate tycoon, commodity trader, money-lender, and actor, but not a writer. In fact, Shakespeare is the only alleged writer from his time for whom no contemporaneous literary paper trail survives.

Review Quotes

?[Diana Price] is restrained, reasonable, and patient. [S]he has the wit and imagination to not restrict herself to facts that are supported by physical or documentary evidence. ...Price's lucid prose, graced with understatement, is the perfect vehicle for her re-examination of what can honestly be known of William Shakspeare's actual life based on all the available records and sources....A thorough reading of this thoroughly readable book by anyone who is not prejudiced beyond reason on its subject will necessarily lead to the conviction that it is impossible that William Shakspeare of Stratford-on-Avon wrote the plays and poems of William Shakespeare.?-The Elizabethan Review

?[Price] certainly gives the Shakespeare doubters some very good ammunition, and her book will join ranks with John Michell's well-conveived Who Wrote Shakespeare? and Charlton Ogburn's The Mysterious William Shakespeare....Academic libraries should buy this book for the debate it will spark and the in-depth literary detective work it provides.?-Library Journal

?[T]he best unorthodox biography of Shakespeare in years. Well-researched and challenging....Price is the first to compare Shakespeare to a number of his contemporaries with respect to personal literary evidence. Her conclusion: He is unique in lacking any....[O]ne of the most interesting and informed briefs for her side in a long time.?-Academia

?Price's text revisits the terain of the Shakespeare authorship problem and sweeps away the detritus of conjecture. In doing so, she clarifies our understanding of why some of the problems related to Shakespeare are so vexing, contentious, and fascinating.?-Shakespeare Bulletin

?Shakespeare's Unorthodox Biography makes crystal clear why William Shakespere of Stratford was not the author of Shakespeare's plays and poetry....Her marshaling of the facts and tight reasoning are masterful and should convince anyone whose mind is not immovably set.?-Journal of Scientific Exploration

?This unique biography, Diana Price has researched every shred of evidence about the Stratford-born Shakespere, analyzing and interpreting literary allusions as well.?-Northern Ohio Live

"ÝDiana Price¨ is restrained, reasonable, and patient. ÝS¨he has the wit and imagination to not restrict herself to facts that are supported by physical or documentary evidence. ...Price's lucid prose, graced with understatement, is the perfect vehicle for her re-examination of what can honestly be known of William Shakspeare's actual life based on all the available records and sources....A thorough reading of this thoroughly readable book by anyone who is not prejudiced beyond reason on its subject will necessarily lead to the conviction that it is impossible that William Shakspeare of Stratford-on-Avon wrote the plays and poems of William Shakespeare."-The Elizabethan Review

"ÝPrice¨ certainly gives the Shakespeare doubters some very good ammunition, and her book will join ranks with John Michell's well-conveived Who Wrote Shakespeare? and Charlton Ogburn's The Mysterious William Shakespeare....Academic libraries should buy this book for the debate it will spark and the in-depth literary detective work it provides."-Library Journal

"ÝT¨he best unorthodox biography of Shakespeare in years. Well-researched and challenging....Price is the first to compare Shakespeare to a number of his contemporaries with respect to personal literary evidence. Her conclusion: He is unique in lacking any....ÝO¨ne of the most interesting and informed briefs for her side in a long time."-Academia

"[Price] certainly gives the Shakespeare doubters some very good ammunition, and her book will join ranks with John Michell's well-conveived Who Wrote Shakespeare? and Charlton Ogburn's The Mysterious William Shakespeare....Academic libraries should buy this book for the debate it will spark and the in-depth literary detective work it provides."-Library Journal

"[T]he best unorthodox biography of Shakespeare in years. Well-researched and challenging....Price is the first to compare Shakespeare to a number of his contemporaries with respect to personal literary evidence. Her conclusion: He is unique in lacking any....[O]ne of the most interesting and informed briefs for her side in a long time."-Academia

"Price's text revisits the terain of the Shakespeare authorship problem and sweeps away the detritus of conjecture. In doing so, she clarifies our understanding of why some of the problems related to Shakespeare are so vexing, contentious, and fascinating."-Shakespeare Bulletin

"Shakespeare's Unorthodox Biography makes crystal clear why William Shakespere of Stratford was not the author of Shakespeare's plays and poetry....Her marshaling of the facts and tight reasoning are masterful and should convince anyone whose mind is not immovably set."-Journal of Scientific Exploration

"This unique biography, Diana Price has researched every shred of evidence about the Stratford-born Shakespere, analyzing and interpreting literary allusions as well."-Northern Ohio Live

"[Diana Price] is restrained, reasonable, and patient. [S]he has the wit and imagination to not restrict herself to facts that are supported by physical or documentary evidence. ...Price's lucid prose, graced with understatement, is the perfect vehicle for her re-examination of what can honestly be known of William Shakspeare's actual life based on all the available records and sources....A thorough reading of this thoroughly readable book by anyone who is not prejudiced beyond reason on its subject will necessarily lead to the conviction that it is impossible that William Shakspeare of Stratford-on-Avon wrote the plays and poems of William Shakespeare."-The Elizabethan Review

About the Author

DIANA PRICE is an independent scholar who has published her Shakespearean research in such journals as The Review of English Studies, Research Opportunities in Renaissance Drama and The Elizabethan Review. Her three part lecture series, Shakespeare and Documentary Evidence, was first presented in classrooms at Cleveland State University.