The Year of Lear : Shakespeare in 1606

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

Very interesting survey of a year of turmoil and conflict in English history, following the Gunpowder Plot. I found it very illuminating to place Shakespeare's plays within their social and historical context. It also gives a glimpse of how historians come up with some of their ideas based on fragmentary evidence. Though Shapiro identifies three plays, King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra, as being produced in 1606, only the first is fairly certain (that's why the book is called “The Year of Lear”). He makes a good case for the others, but this and many other statements should be taken for what they are: theories. There is also a fair amount of speculation, of the “Did Shakespeare feel this or that at the time? We can't know for certain” variety. Overall, it's like a tapestry with huge holes that has been filled in – convincingly, and helping us to see the big picture that otherwise would be hard to imagine, but keep in mind that it may not fully match the original.