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"Who was William Shakespeare?"
Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted November 19, 2003

Who was William Shakespeare? Some people believe he never existed as one person but rather many. Others claim that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is the true Shakespeare, or that the earl of Essex, the earl of Derby, or Sir Walter Raleigh, wrote his works. Did he Read more...

"Everything About the Bard"
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal
Courtesy Crystal Reviews
Posted January 15, 2004

D. L. Johanyak's Shakespeare's World presents the Elizabethan artist's life and works in its proper milieu. Too often students, teachers, and interested readers must forage through multiple tomes to seek knowledge about the ancestral, artistic, historical, literary, philosophical, religious, and social factors vital to completely understand the famous bard and Read more...

Summary

This book is about the world inhabited by Shakespeare and his peers, from the midland town of Stratford-upon-Avon to distant islands of the South Pacific. Shakespeare's World opens the door to readers who are curious about the Bard and his world, providing an easy-to-understand overview of the time period and key events that impacted or were impacted by Shakespeare's writing. This comprehensive, exciting, and approachable book provides colorful yet simple descriptions of Shakespeare's life, Tudor England, Renaissance Europe, and global colonialism during the 16th and early 17th centuries. Written to help readers explore Shakespeare's life and works, the book offers insights into the writing of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.