You, My Brother

by Philip Burton

This rich and colorful historical novel is based on the life of William Shakespeare and his younger brother Edmund. It is filled with exciting episodes out of the public events of the Elizabethan period as well as out of the reconstructed lives of its many characters, such as Ben Jonson, Essex, and Queen Elizabeth herself. The common people are also brought to life, and the streets of London and Stratford-on-Avon become, for the reader, as real as his own neighborhood. The world of the Elizabethan court, of the Shakespearean theater, of grand passion and royal debauchery - all are evoked with great clarity and delight in this novel.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

561 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it's been a long time since I last read this, I remember it as being a lively portrayal of Elizabethan England. Shakespeare's life as an actor and playwright is evoked more vividly than in any other novel based on him that I have read.

Must read this again soon. Bought a hardback with larger font than the small paperback I still have, but this is one of those books I've been waiting to see as an ebook.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, I managed to pick a historical novel that didn't suck. This book was about Ned Shakespeare, William's much younger brother. Ned goes to London when he is sixteen to join the Lord Chamberlain's Players, the company William wrote for. The writing was quite good, and it's obvious that the author did some respectable research not just into the lives of his characters, but the period itself. I certainly learned alot about Elizabethan theater. Ned, William, their colleagues, and their friends are pretty interesting bunch, and this book about them makes for enjoyable reading.

[Phil Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a review somewhere that dismissed this as a predictable "disaster" as a fictionalised biography of William Shakespeare. For me, it was an immensely enjoyable novel, the equivalent of a musical fantasia upon an existing theme. Philip Burton was a giant of the theatre himself and this novel is as much about theatre as it is about William Shakespeare or the greater focus, William's youngest brother, Ned, himself a player in the Lord Chamberlains', later the King's, Men. 561 pages that allowed me to travel back into the world of Shakespeare while enjoying a fascinating tale, told in five extended episodes.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3.5 stars. I really liked a lot of it...there was just too much of it. I don't know why 200 pages weren't edited out of this book.