So what’s the real skinny on Billy WiggleArrow? Did he write his own plays or did someone else? Did he poach material from other playwrights? Was he a good husband? Did he look the way he looks on the cover of this book and others?
Because there’s scant documentary evidence about the Bard, it’s hard to answer these questions with certainty. But Bryson certainly tries, and the result is a slim biography that comes across as responsibly researched and clearly argued. It’s also brilliantly told, a sheer joy to read not only for insights into maybe the best writer in history, but also for its view of Victorian and Jacobean England. Dress codes for peasants? A cap on the number of courses allowed at each meal? The nuggets of historical elucidation are curious enlightenment for anyone who hasn’t studied the era closely. I give this book a nine out of 10, with one point deducted because I wanted another 100 pages once I finished reading.