William Shakespeare Popular Books
William Shakespeare Biography & Facts
William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy in his lifetime. However, in 1623, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, John Heminges and Henry Condell, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that included all but two of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time". Life Early life Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover (glove-maker) originally from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning family. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was baptised on 26 April 1564. His date of birth is unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George's Day. This date, which can be traced to William Oldys and George Steevens, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on the same date in 1616. He was the third of eight children, and the eldest surviving son. Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter-mile (400 m) from his home. Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar: the basic Latin text was standardised by royal decree, and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage. The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times, and six months after the marriage Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583. Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the "complaints bill" of a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589. Scholars refer to the years between 1585 and 1592 as Shakespeare's "lost years". Biographers attempting to account for this period have reported many apocryphal stories. Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, recounted a Stratford legend that Shakespeare fled the town for London to escape prosecution for deer poaching in the estate of local squire Thomas Lucy. Shakespeare is also supposed to have taken his revenge on Lucy by writing a scurrilous ballad about him. Another 18th-century story has Shakespeare starting his theatrical career minding the horses of theatre patrons in London. John Aubrey reported that Shakespeare had been a country schoolmaster. Some 20th-century scholars suggested that Shakespeare may have been employed as a schoolmaster by Alexander Hoghton of Lancashire, a Catholic landowner who named a certain "William Shakeshafte" in his will. Little evidence substantiates such stories other than hearsay collected after his death, and Shakeshafte was a common name in the Lancashire area. London and theatrical career It is not known definitively when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by 1592. By then, he was sufficiently known in London to be attacked in print by the playwright Robert Greene in his Groats-Worth of Wit: ... there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country. Scholars differ on the exact meaning of Greene's words, but most agree that Greene was accusing Shakespeare of reaching above his rank in trying to match such university-educated writers as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, and Greene himself (the so-called "University Wits"). The italicised phrase parodying the line "Oh, tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide" from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3, along with the pun "Shake-scene", clearly identify Shakespeare as Greene's target. As used here, Johannes Factotum ("Jack of all trades") refers to a second-rate tinkerer with the work of others, rather than the more common "universal genius".Greene's attack is the earliest surviving mention of Shakespeare's work in the theatre. Biographers suggest that .... Discover the William Shakespeare popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William Shakespeare books.
Best Seller William Shakespeare Books of August 2022
Apple Watch User Guide
Apple Inc.September 16, 2021GetHere’s everything you need to know about Apple Watch and the Apple Watch app on iPhone, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using Apple Watch with watchOS 8 an...
A Lot Like Home
Kathryn CantrellMay 21, 2018GetDestiny isn't a thing in her world. Smooth-talking strangers need not apply... Superstition Springs native Havana Nixon is convinced letting a big developer into their tiny Texas oasis is th...
Let's Talk About Hard Things
Anna SaleMay 4, 2021GetFrom the host of the popular WNYC podcast Death, Sex, & Money , Let’s Talk About Hard Things is “like a good conversation with a friend” ( The New Yorker ) where “no topic is off...
Someone Else's Daughter
Linsey LanierOctober 29, 2010GetBook I of the popular Miranda's Rights Mystery series by bestselling author Linsey Lanier. A woman can never make herself too tough, too strong, or too street smart. THE SEARCHIN...
Coming Home to Glendale Hall
Victoria WaltersSeptember 25, 2019Get'WOW! From the first page I was absolutely hooked ...Would highly recommend to get you in a feel good mood!’ (5 stars) Netgalley reviewer Uplifting and full of heart - this is an utter tre...
The Killing Game (An Alexa Chase Suspense Thriller—Book 1)
Kate BoldOctober 15, 2021GetAlexa Chase, 34, a brilliant profiler in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, was too good at her job. Haunted by all the serial killers she caught, she left a stunning career behind to joi...
Romancing His Rival
Poppy St JamesAugust 16, 2021GetTwo enemies. One wedding. The plan was simple . . . until they started to fall for each other. Noah and Olivia are total opposites. She’s buttoned up and proper, focused en...
The Baltic Run
Charles WhitingJune 15, 2020GetFrom the carnage of war a new hero is born. 1920. The slaughter of World War One is over, but already secret little wars are breaking out all over 'New Europe'. Sub-Lieutenant de Vere Smith ...
Maneuver
Chelle BlissJuly 31, 2018GetThis isn’t how fairy tales typically begin, but it’s where mine starts… No money, no phone, and abandoned on the streets of Chicago. With my baby in my arms, I wander into a bar in a s...
The Cornish Village School - Breaking the Rules
Kitty WilsonJune 11, 2018GetRosy Winter is definitely not looking for love. Following heartbreak, Rosy has rebuilt her life in the beautiful Cornish village of Penmenna. Now headmistress of the local school, she is liv...
Right Time
Lexy TimmsFebruary 11, 2022GetDon't rush on anything. If the time is right, it will happen. Rae I've always known I was meant to get out of the dead-end side of town where I was born. Trevor is my plan. He's from t...
Think and Grow Rich
Greg Habstritt & Napoleon HillDecember 23, 2010GetThink and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of all-time, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70 years ago. It&...
Become A Better Version of Yourself
Ben LeightonFebruary 22, 2015GetThis ebook contains golden nuggets on how to motivate, inspire and improve your current situation. It encompasses the holistic view of self improvement from mental& emotional wellbeing, ...
Gambler
Lexy TimmsMarch 17, 2020GetMoonrise Key. Playground of the rich and famous . As the owner of a successful security firm, Jack Landry has a reputation for being ruthless and coldly efficient. He's never backed dow...
In Light of the Summit
Jamie McGillenDecember 31, 2020GetThe much-anticipated sequel to In Sight of the Mountain! After Anna Gallagher's first climb on Mt. Rainier, she faces a new challenge—enduring the ridicule and threats that come with break...
iPhone User Guide
Apple Inc.September 20, 2021GetHere’s everything you need to know about iPhone, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using iPhone with iOS 15 and discover all the amazing things it can do.
Today I Am Mad
Michael GordonSeptember 7, 2020GetKids feel emotions in big ways! Here's a great story for helping kids manage their feelings. * Help children learn to identify and regulate their ...
The Recruiting Trip
Lexy TimmsNovember 19, 2014GetAspiring college athlete Aileen Nessa is finding the recruiting process beyond daunting. Being ranked #10 in the world for the 100m hurdles at the age of eighteen is not a fluke, even though...
Outsmart Your Brain
Steven SchusterJune 8, 2020GetWhat motivates us into doing or avoiding things? Why do our predictions not reflect reality? Traditional economics claims humans are rational actors. But is this true? Think about the ...
Nothing to Hide
Scarlett FinnApril 13, 2021GetPrize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a late-night talk show! What could possibly go wr...
Some Call It Love
Sarah PeisAugust 20, 2018Get"The best feel-good romcom you need right now." Goodreads reviewer A mistaken arrest, an unpaid debt, and a trip to Vegas. Living in a small town where everyone knows your business isn't eas...
An Acquired Taste
Kelly CainJune 8, 2021GetMay the best chef win... After four years at the country’s top culinary school and several years as head chef in her mother’s restaurant, Rowan Townsend has built a notable reputation. H...
Love Me Like a Love Song
Annmarie BoyleNovember 9, 2020GetShe used to be on top of the music world. He's desperate to get there. Unable to compose since the death of her rock star husband, Grammy award-winning songwriter, Grace O'Connor is terrifie...
Contract with a SEAL
Kate AsterSeptember 7, 2016GetSome contracts are meant to be broken... Desperate to shake herself free from the humiliation of a very public divorce, TV financial correspondent Vi Owens makes a deal with a Navy SEAL Comm...
Her Dream Cowboy
Laura AnnMay 9, 2022GetShe's fulfilling her mother's dying dream, he's leaving his legacy behind... When their paths cross, can they find love despite going in different directions? Scarlett Dylan was raised in th...
Girl, Alone (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1)
Blake PierceDecember 16, 2020GetFBI Agent Ella Dark has studied serial killers from the time she could read, devastated by the murder of her own sister. With her photographic memory, she has obtained an encyclopedic knowle...
iPad User Guide
Apple Inc.September 20, 2021GetHere’s everything you need to know about iPad, straight from Apple. This definitive guide helps you get started using iPad with iPadOS 15 and discover all the amazing things it can do.
Falling for a Rake
Eve PendleNovember 29, 2021GetHe's the most notorious rake in England. She's a Perfect Lady. Their secrets will come tumbling out. . . A sexy opposites attract fake engagement romance! Lady Emily can't afford a scandal. ...
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FitzgeraldApril 10, 1925GetAn Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Man-about-town Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of money...
Abigail's Shop
Rachael HerronOctober 22, 2021Get“I didn’t just imply that you weren’t welcome. I’m making sure you know that’s the case.” Don’t miss the incredible first standalone in this unputdownable series th...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumMay 17, 1900GetAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original book? L...
The School of Starting Over
Lisa SwiftMarch 11, 2020Get‘this was a delight to read …I just can’t recommend it enough. The best romance book I’ve read this year .’ ☆☆☆☆☆ Books and Bookends Nell’s going back to school… but ...
Savage Prince
Meghan MarchApril 24, 2018GetWho knew things could get even darker and dirtier in New Orleans? New York Times bestselling author Meghan March introduces the Savage Prince of the city, the man you...
Persuasion
Jane AustenDecember 31, 1817GetA woman of no importance, she manoeuvres in her restricted circumstances as her long-time love Captain Wentworth did in the wars. Even though she is nearly thirty, well past the sell-by bloo...
The Girl Outside: A Shocking and Gripping Psychological Thriller
James CaineJune 22, 2022GetHer daughter has a dark secret. One that will turn their perfect small town upside down. Now she's missing. Mandy Knox can't shake the gut wrenching feeling that something sinister hap...
Wanna Puck? (Book Two)
Layla Valentine & Ana SparksDecember 24, 2021GetOne cool-as-ice veteran player One smoking hot rising star And little old me in the middle All wrapped up in an all-star ménage a trois I've been sent to write a piece on two NHL stars Joel...
The Boss
Lexy TimmsJuly 23, 2015GetFrom USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Lexy Timms, comes a billionaire romance that'll crank up the heat and have you falling in love all over again. Jamie Connors has given up on finding a man....
Bred By The Boss #1: Alyssa
Arwen RichJuly 3, 2018GetAlyssa is untouched by any man – until her hot, demanding boss Mr. Ramirez comes into her life. Her fantasy comes true when he has his way with her, rough and unprotected. But as a result,...
Man Crush Monday
Kirsty MoseleyFebruary 3, 2020GetPerma-single Amy Clarke prides herself on three things: her pink hair, her Converse collection, and her ability to drink copious amounts of margarita without puking. She isn’t looking for ...
Scraps of Paper
Kathryn Meyer GriffithSeptember 13, 2014GetAbigail Sutton's beloved husband walks out one night, doesn't return, and two years later is found dead, a victim of a long ago crime. It's made her sympathetic to the missing and their fami...
Moby Dick
Herman MelvilleOctober 17, 1851GetAn Apple Books Classic edition. Herman Melville’s classic begins with one of the most famous opening lines in world literature: “Call me Ishmael.” Moby Dick was a commercial failure wh...
Secrets of Willow House
Susanne O'LearyMarch 25, 2019Get‘ What a wonderful read this was! ... The definition of feel-good – reading it felt like sunshine… The first ‘feel good’ novel I’ve read this year that actually made me feel good...
My Always One
Aleatha RomigJuly 27, 2021GetMY ALWAYS ONE: Friends to lovers stand alone When we were young, Samantha Anderson was the girl down the street. For as long as I remember, she’s been my partner in crime, in adventu...
High Conflict
Amanda RipleyApril 6, 2021GetWhen we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. That’s what ...
Chasing Romeo
Sarah ReadyMay 25, 2021GetA laugh out loud, soul mate chasing rom-com romp, Sarah Ready's Chasing Romeo is a perfect feel-good novel about finding love where you least expect it. Chloe Daniels is a starry-eyed romant...
The Lost Siren
Raven StormMay 16, 2022GetA human female born into a breeding manor never has a choice…I am a slave, but at least I am alive. When the man with wings and scales gave me a second choice—I took it. I'll do what I m...
Make Me Wilder
Serena BellMay 20, 2021GetShe's a city girl. I'm a mountain man. This shouldn't work. So why can't I stay away? Gabe: I promised my dad I’d take care of the Wilder family adventure business, including my rowdy co-w...
Let's Taco Bout It
Matthew RyanOctober 1, 2014GetMr Taco is feeling sad, it’s not easy being a little taco when everything around you is so BIG! Luckily, Patrick has a few ideas to help his friend... ———— NOT YOUR REGULAR S...
Best Seller William Shakespeare Audio Books of August 2022
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireJ.K. Rowling$39.99
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- Talking to StrangersMalcolm Gladwell$14.99
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- Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel (Unabridged)Taylor Jenkins Reid$12.99
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- The Paris ApartmentLucy Foley$14.99
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- The Four Agreements (Unabridged)Don Miguel Ruiz$10.99
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- Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds (Unabridged)David Goggins$21.99
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- The Fellowship of the RingJ.R.R. Tolkien$19.99
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- The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual EnlightenmentEckhart Tolle$19.99
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- Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Unabridged)Anthony Bourdain$12.99
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- The HobbitJ.R.R. Tolkien$14.99
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- The Summer I Turned PrettyJenny Han$12.99
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- How To Win Friends And Influence People (Unabridged)Dale Carnegie$14.99
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- Maybe Someday (Unabridged)Colleen Hoover$4.99
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- The Devil's Hand (Unabridged)Jack Carr$14.99
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- We'll Always Have SummerJenny Han$16.99
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- Verity (Unabridged)Colleen Hoover$17.99
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- The Wrong Side of GoodbyeMichael Connelly$9.99
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- The Power Of Positive Thinking (Unabridged)Dr. Norman Vincent Peale$19.99
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- The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and SuccessEd Mylett$16.99
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- You Are a Badass®Jen Sincero$14.99
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- The Hotel NantucketElin Hilderbrand$16.99
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- Badass Habits: Cultivate the Awareness, Boundaries, and Daily Upgrades You Need to Make Them Stick (Unabridged)Jen Sincero$4.99
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- The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.Benjamin Graham$29.99
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- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find--and Keep-- Love (Unabridged)Amir Levine & Rachel Heller$12.99
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- Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixJ.K. Rowling$39.99
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- Good to GreatJim Collins$19.99
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- True Believer (Unabridged)Jack Carr$16.99
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- They Want to Kill AmericansMalcolm Nance$19.99
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- The End of the World is Just the BeginningPeter Zeihan$24.99
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- The 6:20 ManDavid Baldacci$16.99
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