- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd; New Ed edition (20 April 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0285635514
- ISBN-13: 978-0285635517
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 623,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
'Daily Telegraph'
`A little masterpiece... funny, tender and highly memorable.'
'The Times'
"A fanciful, sidelong view of a mysterious, mismatched marriage
that ends on a surprisingly tender note."
that ends on a surprisingly tender note."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ah--a clever, clever book, indeed! Robert Nye's "Mrs. Shakespeare" is just that. In this very readable, witty, and enjoyable book, Nye's "central character" (Anne Hathaway) reveals to us the "real" William Shakespeare! Written some seven years after the Bard's death, the book draws heavily upon heretofore "unpublished" comments/thoughts/reactions by his widow. No matter.
Remember, this is fiction. And while we are not comparing Nye's work "to a summer's day," it is magical in its intent. Nye is quite the scholar, although that seems disguised as he flippantly carries us through Anne's memoirs ("the only happily married couple in all my husband's works are called Macbeth"). Of course, as "Shakespearean gospel," there will be the critics and non-believers. Again, no matter. It's fiction. So a little (well, all right, a lot) of leeway should be granted. Regardless of your devotion (or not) to Shakespeare, this take is still a good one to read. That's not to say it isn't intellectually challenging, and perhaps the more you know about Shakespeare, the more you are likely to catch all the allusions tossed--sometimes willy-nilly-at the reader!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Other reviews I've read here are a bit unkind. I enjoyed the book and there's a wealth of scholarship and humour behind the seemingly flimsy text. Don't forget Nye is a poet and then maybe you'll see why he writes this way, building up a rhythm and then varying it for emphasis and dramatic effect. His penchant for buggery (writing about it at least) is on a par with Norman Mailer's but, for me, it doesn't detract from the power of the images he prompts through his blank verse, the humour that flows throughout the book, and the careful weaving in of those few 'facts' that we know about Shakespeare. It worked enough for me to enjoy the book - maybe you will too.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The attraction of this book is without doubt the wonderful character and narrative voice that Nye has created for the eponymous Mrs Shakespeare. She is earthy and practical, writing with a straightforward and direct tone which is full of bathos and the perfect contrast to her husband's elegant, playful tones. I enjoyed the way that she deliberately avoids using metaphor and simile as she considers these dishonest ways of speaking, and her down to earth deconstruction of the sonnet Shakespeare gives to her is a stroke of comic genius.
This book uses one fictional event, the visit of Anne Hathaway to her husband in London in 1594, as a lens through which to examine the possible relationship between Shakespeare and his much neglected wife. Throughout her story are anecdotes and thoughts taken from Shakespeare's plays and I had fun spotting and identifying these. In particular, this book creates a reason behind Shakespeare's odd-sounding bequest to his wife of the second best bed. I thought that this section of the novel, focussing on the unusual relations enjoyed my Mr and Mrs Shakespeare in the second best bed, was useful in that it explored the different reactions to and motivations for physical pleasure of the two main characters. However, it did become rather overstated and was a disproportionately long section in what is a short novel. On the whole though, I enjoyed the irreverent tone of the whole book, and found it to be a good read.
This book uses one fictional event, the visit of Anne Hathaway to her husband in London in 1594, as a lens through which to examine the possible relationship between Shakespeare and his much neglected wife. Throughout her story are anecdotes and thoughts taken from Shakespeare's plays and I had fun spotting and identifying these. In particular, this book creates a reason behind Shakespeare's odd-sounding bequest to his wife of the second best bed. I thought that this section of the novel, focussing on the unusual relations enjoyed my Mr and Mrs Shakespeare in the second best bed, was useful in that it explored the different reactions to and motivations for physical pleasure of the two main characters. However, it did become rather overstated and was a disproportionately long section in what is a short novel. On the whole though, I enjoyed the irreverent tone of the whole book, and found it to be a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Witty and Very Entertaining
This purports to be the diary of Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, written seven years after his death. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2008 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
Nye not at his best
A very disappointing book.
Nye at his best is sparkling, witty, and brilliant (see his "Falstaff" and "Merlin").
But this is dfferent. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2000
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