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Will (Hardcover)

by Christopher Rush (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
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Customers buy this book with The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street by Charles Nicholl

Will + The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street
Price For Both: £16.96

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Beautiful Books Limited (6 Sep 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1905636148
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905636143
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.8 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 333,935 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

For the first time in 400 years, an author has dared to take on the voice of the world's most famous playwright. William Shakespeare is on his deathbed, where he receives his lawyer to set out his final will and testament. As he answers his questions the Bard begins to recall his life, and over 448 pages of tumultuous, passionate and glorious writing the true life of an extraordinary man emerges. This is Shakespeare as we have never known him: angry, emotional, honest, reflective, joyous, despairing - the Bard will never be looked at the same way again.


About the Author

Christopher Rush is the author of Hellfire and Herring, To Travel Hopefully, Venus Peter and other works.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A rather magnificent failure, 28 Jan 2009
By Ms. A. Brooke "Anne Brooke" (Godalming, Surrey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Will (Paperback)
Goodness, this is a fascinating monster of a book. Which doesn't quite succeed, in my opinion. Still, it's a brave effort and Rush certainly needs points for courage. It's supposed to be about Shakespeare's retelling of his life story on his deathbed to his lawyer. A wonderful premise for sure, and the writing is very poetic on occasion. But maybe that premise is where the trouble starts. First off, there's no real plot, as such. It's simply one man telling another about his life, and you're never allowed to forget that fact. This means that the action and emotion is unfortunately very distanced from the reader and you're told everything rather than being directly shown it through the text. It would have been much better if you'd had a prologue setting up the scene and an epilogue drawing it back again, with the rest of the book being allowed to sing unaccompanied.

In a strange way also, it's slightly easier to read if you try to forget it's supposed to be a novel at all, and take it as a long - very long! - prose poem. Slightly easier anyway. It would definitely be interesting to see what Rush's poetry is like. I must also admit that the man Shakespeare as portrayed here rapidly became very wearisome and my sympathies were for those poor unfortunates he rubbed up against, such as Anne Hathaway and the long-suffering lawyer (just let the poor man eat his pie without carping on about it, for goodness sake!).

So, as I imagine the real Shakespeare must have been quite fascinating, I suppose in making me dislike him, Rush must at least be performing some kind of literary miracle. In a negative way. That said, the historical details are very vibrant and obviously well researched. Perhaps it would be better rewritten as a non-fiction study of the age? And it certainly needs an editor who's not afraid to cut - it outstays its welcome hugely in terms of length. So, a brave attempt at something different by an author who can obviously write (but needs much much tighter control), but in the end a magnificent failure, I fear.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars A mental block, 13 Feb 2009
By Mr. M. C. Windsor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Will (Paperback)
Try as I might I cannot get by head around this book. I have only read the first 50 pages and I am struggling. One minute the author is desperate to let us know that he knows Shakespeare's history, he shares the facts with us as Will, the bard's life-story in character. Conceivable? Maybe. However, it comes across as patronising and stilted, but then without warning Rush's vast creative skills and artistic license kick in, passed off as William's memories and ramblings. We are in the depths of the writer trying to show us the gamut of his talent. I feel as though I am reading about him and not Will. Sorry. I will (excuse the term) endeavour to see this through in the hope of enjoying the book for what it is. Sadly, I have read too many factual books that try to piece together Shakespeare's life and find this a little too presumptuous. The book is very well written and inevitably deserves it's accolades. Regretfully, I cannot afford it any.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must for any Shakespeare fan, 29 Dec 2008
This review is from: Will (Paperback)
An evocative novel bringing England of the 16th Century to life through Shakespeares own eyes as he lies on his death bed. Rush's tale is beleiveable, thought provoking and gritty. Although initially a little difficult to begin due to the language used (very Shakespearian prose and imagery) this book is impossible to put down and leaves the reader feeling that they too are stood in the filth of London in the 1500's witnessing Will's rise to fame.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable!
One of the most evoctive and well written fictions on Shakespeare I have ever read! Wonderful imaginative descriptions of possible sources for Shakespeare's most famous lines... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. G. M. Phillips

1.0 out of 5 stars not worth reading
Here is a fictionalised biography of Shakespeare which is very clever but certainly not clever enough. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Johann Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars A way with words
Every so often, a novel comes along which breaks the mould - this is one of them. Shakespeare lies on his deathbed, talking his life to his lawyer as they write his will. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Pompey 54

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