The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America

by Nigel Cliff
The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-Century America
book data
24 ratings, 3.75 average rating, 9 reviews (more data...)
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published
April 17th 2007 by Random House

binding
Hardcover, 336 pages

isbn
0345486943    (isbn13: 9780345486943)

description
One of the bloodiest incidents in New York’s history, the so-called Astor Place Riot of May 10, 1849, was ignited by a long-simmering grudge match bet...more




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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 73)

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Dan
08/05/08
Dan rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Without NPR I'm nothing. I swear.

There was a discussion of this book with the author one morning, and the idea caught me. With passions still running high after our break from British rule in the late 1700's, two friendly (and illustrious) Shakespearean actors put their friendship aside and fought with each other, publicly and onstage, with such ill consequence that it led to a riot in front of the theater at which one was performing. The personalities were interesting, the circumst...more
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April
06/22/09
April marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read
from NPR's Books podcast
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Loren
07/16/08
Loren rated it: 2 of 5 stars

Read in August, 2008
I found the book a little hard to read, but this book covers a period of time and a portion of society I knew nothing about. With the current demands on your time of the Internet, iPods, TV, Movies, etc, it is interesting to read about a time when going to plays was commonplace for people and actors could lead to an all out riot. From today's current elitizing of Shakespeare and academic forcitude of school, I never realized just how much of an impact Shakespeare had on all of society.
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John
04/22/09
John added it

Read in June, 2009
This books tries to use the lives of two 19th actors to explain the Astor Place riots, and although it does a good job describing the state of Shakespeare in the 19thC, it has to fall back on class and race to explain the riots, leaving the main characters as incidental props in a much larger tragedy.
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George
07/21/08
George rated it: 4 of 5 stars

Read in August, 2008
This book has revived my interest in the history of Five Points (ala The Gangs of New York) in 19th Century Manhattan. Here's three books on that subject to be considered:

Five Points, by Tyler Anbinder;
The Gangs of New York, by Herbert Asbury; and
The Five Points, by Rocco Dormarunno
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Anne girl
11/16/07
Anne girl rated it: 4 of 5 stars

good fun--reading it with educational lens--lots of cool interdisciplinary stuff in there for U.S. history and Shakespeare. Frontier men reciting Shakespeare round the fire at night, etc.
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Jacob
12/06/07
Jacob marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read
I wrote about wanting to read this book (after reading an article on it) in my LiveJournal (with link to the article).
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Florence
11/03/08
Florence rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in March, 2008
The theatre was once patronized by the masses, not the elite. Things got pretty exciting sometimes.
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Joanne
07/22/08
Joanne marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read
recommended to Joanne by: NPR
Heard about on NPR - sounds interesting
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Painting
04/27/09
Painting marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
04/26/09
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer marked it as to-read


MBP
04/26/09
MBP added it

bookshelves: to-read-myls
recommended to MBP by: Bibliography of Drood by Dan Simmons

Jason
03/29/09
Jason rated it: 3 of 5 stars

Read in April, 2008

Sarah
02/20/09
Sarah marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Amanda
02/09/09
Amanda marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Kaethe
01/22/09
Kaethe marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Jeanne
01/08/09
Jeanne rated it: 4 of 5 stars


Chad
01/01/09
Chad marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

Patrick
12/17/08
Patrick rated it: 2 of 5 stars



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