As wry and witty as it is thorough and thoughtful, Menzer's eminently readable study is the most fun you will ever have with a biography of Shakespeare.

Andrew Hartley, Robinson Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA

Written with verve, this biography is as breezy as it is illuminating.

Laurie Maguire, Fellow, Magdalen College, and Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford, UK

With his characteristic wit, humour, and incisive intelligence, Paul Menzer demonstrates not only why it is so hard to pin down the details of Shakespeare's life, but he shows us the rich and layered texture of Shakespeare's culture. It is Menzer's specific approach to Shakespearean biography that has moved us a step closer to knowing the playwright, more so than other more sprawling biographies ever could. It is essential reading for those who wish to get to know Shakespeare in his own moment and learn how he got to be such a Goliath in ours.

Farah Karim-Cooper, Director, Folger Shakespeare Library, USA.