Shopping Cart

Your cart is empty

Continue Shopping

Emma Smith

This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright

€13,95

A genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human condition like no others. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in vision, originality and literary mastery. Who wrote like an angel, putting it all so much better than anyone else.

Is this Shakespeare? Well, sort of. But it doesn't really tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant, deflecting us from investigating the challenges of his inconsistencies and flaws.

This electrifying new book thrives on revealing, not resolving, the ambiguities of Shakespeare's plays and their changing topicality. It introduces an intellectually, theatrically and ethically exciting writer who engages with intersectionality as much as with Ovid, with economics as much as poetry: who writes in strikingly modern ways about individual agency, privacy, politics, celebrity and sex. It takes us into a world of politicking and copy-catting, as we watch him emulating the blockbusters of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, the Spielberg and Tarantino of their day; flirting with and skirting round the cut-throat issues of succession politics, religious upheaval and technological change.

The Shakespeare in this book poses awkward questions rather than offering bland answers, always implicating us in working out what it might mean. This is Shakespeare. And he needs your attention.

Format: Paperback
Published: in UK in 2020
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Pages: 368
Language: English
ISBN 13: 9780241361634
ISBN 10: 024136163X

Shipping & Delivery

Please allow us 24-48 hours to prepare your order. Once your order is ready to be dispatched, we will send it via Deutsche Post DHL which quotes the following delivery times:


Within Germany: 3-5 working days
Within Europe: 7-10 working days

We currently only ship to countries in Europe and the United Kingdom. If you have a request for shipping to another area of the world, please contact us at shakespeareandsons@gmail.com.

Refunds & Returns

At Shakespeare & Sons you can shop with confidence. We are happy to provide a refund or voucher of equal value where the goods are returned within 21 days of purchase unused, in original condition, accompanied by proof of purchase.

To return an online order within the refund policy period, please contact us and we will then give you instructions on how best to return your order so we can process your refund.

To return an in store purchase, please bring the purchased item and proof of receipt into the store, within 21 days of purchase.

Please note we do not offer discretionary exchange or refunds on Gift Vouchers, Sale Items, or damaged products. 

Gift Wrap & Cards

Shakespeare & Sons offer gift wrapping and greeting cards. To have your items gift wrapped, head to our Gift Wrap collection, choose the paper you prefer and add it to your cart. We will wrap the items for you and send them to the address you have submitted or have it ready in store for you to collect (depending on what option you select at check out).

Check out our Greeting Card collection here. If you would like us to include a message in your selected card, forward your purchase confirmation onto shakespeareandsons@gmail.com with some words and we will add these in for you. 

We're here to help

Can't find what you're looking for?

If the book you're after is not displayed on our website or is 'sold out' please feel free to contact us at shakesandsonsberlin@gmail.com or come into the store and we can let you know the cost of ordering it and expected arrival time.

This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright

€13,95