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The Final Act Of Mr Shakespeare
In the spring of 1613 Mr William Shakespeare, a gentleman farmer in Warwickshire, returns to London. It is a ceremonial visit; he has no further theatrical ambitions. But the city is still reeling from the terrorist panic of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and fate soon forces him to take up his pen again. It was never possible to write about Henry VII while his granddaughter ...more
Hardcover
Published
by Little Brown and Company
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Quite an interesting treatment, speculating on the idea that Shakespeare, disillusioned with the reign of James I and the way in which he re-wrote history to flatter the Tudors by casting Richard III as a hunchbacked monster, decides to continue his history plays by writing 'Henry VII'.
With King's minister believing he is writing a flattering account of the life of Henry VIII, he and his trusted company of actors, the King's Men, begin to thrash out the scenes for what will und...more
Shakespeare is ordered by Sir Edward Coke to right a play about Henry VIII but as he is feeling guilty about the hatchet job that he done on Richard III under Elizabeth he decides that in secret he is going to write one about Henry VII and redress the balance.
Knowing that this play will never be performed and that if he is caught it will be off to the tower, he starts to suspect everyone of his friends of being in league with the crown and plotting against him. The problem for me is that I...more
Knowing that this play will never be performed and that if he is caught it will be off to the tower, he starts to suspect everyone of his friends of being in league with the crown and plotting against him. The problem for me is that I...more
Spend some time reviewing your knowledge of the 16-17th century English political history. You can read this work without doing so, but you'll enjoy it more if you have some basic knowledge of the monarchy at the time and the power struggles that shaped the outcome.
Although the "Final Act" is not a recently unearthed literary discovery, it is a great attempt at writing a Shakespearean piece. How many authors would even attempt such a task? Winder did it and that's reason...more
Although the "Final Act" is not a recently unearthed literary discovery, it is a great attempt at writing a Shakespearean piece. How many authors would even attempt such a task? Winder did it and that's reason...more
Great fun. And it shows Shakespeare having second thoughts about the historical accuracy of his plays, which is nice to see for any Ricardian.
Great style of proe. Enjoyable re theatrics of Will S and his friends. The author brings in some lovely lessons on the creations of some of his works.
The pace was a little slow for me, adn I found no character to devote emotional energy to. I put it away at the halfway point.
The pace was a little slow for me, adn I found no character to devote emotional energy to. I put it away at the halfway point.
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Abandoned
The historical fiction I liked. Someone in the 21st century trying to write a Shakespeare play? Meh. A good novel though.
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