Genius of Shakespeare

With an introduction by Simon CallowJudgements about the quality of works of art begin in opinion. But for the last two hundred years only the wilfully perverse (and Tolstoy) have denied the validity of the opinion that Shakespeare was a genius.Who was Shakespeare? Why has his writing endured? And what makes it so endlessly adaptable to different times and cultures? Exploring Shakespeare's life, including questions of authorship and autobiography, and charting how his legacy has grown over the centuries, this extraordinary book asks how Shakespeare has come to be such a powerful symbol of genius.Written with lively passion and wit, The Genius of Shakespeare is a fascinating biography of the life - and afterlife - of our greatest poet. Jonathan Bate, one of the world's leading Shakespearean scholars, has shown how the legend of Shakespeare's genius was created and sustained, and how the man himself became a truly global phenomenon.'The best modern book on Shakespeare' Sir Peter Hall

‘The best book about Shakespeare for a generation’ Philip Howard, The Times, ‘As brilliant an account of the Bard’s iconic universality as you could hope to find’ Michael Billington, Guardian, ‘Absolutely dazzling – illuminates the whole man and the influence he has in our lives’ Simon Callow, Sunday Express, ‘Occupies the territory of biography, literary criticism, theatrical and social history, and a journey across its landscape is one of constant delight and illumination’ Sir Richard Eyre, Financial Times, Books of the Year, ‘The theme of this wonderfully written, diverse book is diversity itself, and the range of the essays serves only to confirm the disparate nature of Shakespeare’s achievement’ Peter Ackroyd, The Times

Jonathan Bate is Professor of English Literature in the University of Oxford, where he is Provost of Worcester College. He is the editor of the highly acclaimed RSC Shakespeare: Complete Works (Macmillan) and the author of many books, including John Clare: A Biography (Picador), which was shortlisted for seven prizes and won Britain's two oldest literary awards, the Hawthornden Prize and the James Tait Black Prize. His biography of Ted Hughes was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. Professor Bate has lectured on Shakespeare throughout the world and has held visiting posts at Harvard, Yale and the University of California. In January 2015 he became the youngest person ever to have been knighted for services to literary scholarship.