About the Book:

From the dean of Shakespeare studies comes a lively, entertaining work of biography that firmly locates Shakespeare within the hectic, exhilarating world in which he lived and worked.

Theatre in Shakespeare's day was a burgeoning "growth industry." Everyone knew everyone else, and they all sought to learn, borrow or steal from one another. As Stanley Wells suggests: "To see Shakespeare as one among a great company is only to enhance our sense of what made him unique."

Wells explores Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre, both behind the scenes and in front of the curtain. He examines how the great actors of the time influenced Shakespeare's work. He writes about the lives and works of the other major writers of Shakespeare's day and discusses Shakespeare's relationships — sometimes collaborative — with each of them. And throughout, Stanley Wells shares his vast knowledge of the period, re-creating and celebrating the sheer richness and variety of Shakespeare's social and cultural milieus.

Shakespeare and Co. gives us a new understanding of how the Bard achieved unparalleled singularity as the greatest writer in the language.

What people say:

"Fascinating... An enthralling work of popular scholarship." — The Observer (UK)

"Ingenious... [Shakespeare's London] was a time and a place teeming with excitement, anecdote and incident, and Wells, in this richly enjoyable work, brings it to life with a novelist's sense of the telling detail." — The Sunday Times (UK)

"Comprehensive and colorful... This is illuminating, well-planned and suggestive work, not only for those readers who have little acquaintance with the subject, but also for those already familiar with it. One of the greatest gifts of this book... is to re-astonish readers with the simple fact of the newness of all this." — The Independent on Sunday (UK)

"A valuable contribution to popular Shakespeare scholarship... A feat of synthesis... Each page is dense with well-chosen information and sensible, sensitive interpretation." — The Independent on Sunday (UK)

"This collaborative Shakespeare makes a refreshing change from the autistic monarch of the stage... Wit its lightly worn learning and its refreshing argument, this is a rewarding and readable book. Anyone who wants to understand Shakespeare will learn from it." — Evening Standard (UK)

"A lively and highly entertaining introduction to Shakespeare's professional world." — The New York Times

"[Wells] sets out with elegance and ease to chronicle Shakespeare's relationships with his fellow workers, that remarkable collection of actors and playwrights without whom there would not have been a golden age of English drama-or, Wells vigorously argues, Shakespeare as we know him." — The Atlantic Monthly

"Entertaining... Highly readable... Pulling Shakespeare back down among the mortals — especially entertaining ones such as Marlowe and Jonson is a worthy undertaking." — Richmond Times Dispatch

About the Author:

Stanley Wells is Emeritus Professor, University of Birmingham and a renowned authority on Shakespeare and other writers of his time. He is General Editor of the Oxford Shakespeare and has published many books and articles on the subject and lectured all over the world. A world-renowned authority, he regularly appears on TV, radio, and in the press whenever Shakespeare is discussed. He is Chair of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Honorary Governor Emeritus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and member of the Board of Directors of the Globe Theatre. In 2007, he was awarded a CBE.