Stopes, a tireless searcher of record offices, collects papers that each added a new fact about Shakespeare’s world between the accession of Henry VIII and the crisis of 1640. She writes on his aunts and the Snitterfield property, the Asbies estate, Mary Arden’s arms, Stratford’s supposedly bookless neighbourhood, John and Gilbert Shakespeare, and the crowds and commerce of the early playhouses.
Valuable for Shakespeare enthusiasts who prefer documents to speculation, and a model of patient archival detective work. Download the free EPUB.