I bought this book, on the recommendation of a friend, sometime between the 1999 publication of the edition I own and 2005, when I was living in the Seattle area and regularly seeing four "Shakespeare in the Park" performances every summer. Author Ian Wilson presents voluminous research in this biography to make a convincing argument that William Shakespeare did in fact write the plays and poetry attributed to him. Included are numerous photographs and contemporary drawings and other illustrations, as well as 30 pages of endnotes and references, three appendices (including family trees and a helpful chronology), a nine-page bibliography, and ten-page index.

Wilson writes a lot about the inspirations and sources for each play (and some of the sonnets). An example (from pages 351-355) is one of my favorite plays, The Tempest, inspired by contemporary accounts of a 1609 Bermuda shipwreck of the Sea Venture, which was on a resupply mission to the Jamestown, Virginia colony. The weather phenomenon St. Elmo's fire described in one of those accounts may have been the spark for the character of Ariel in the play. Most interesting to me was Wilson's supposition (with copious evidence) that Shakespeare was a closet Catholic, a dangerous thing to be in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. ( )

A favourite of mine. Wilson is mainly known for books on the paranormal and occult, and some mildly controversial examinations of Biblical history and authenticity. But for mine this is one of his best, a really thorough examination of Shakespeare's roots, his life from womb to tomb and a really down to earth analysis of that hoary controversy over whether he did actually write his plays. I found it an enthralling book when I first read it some 20 years ago and it hasnt lost its appeal for me since. Its the one I recommend when anyone asks me about a good Shakespeare biography or something about the authorship controversy. Unfortunately its not easy to find these days, but well worth the trouble of seeking it out. ( )