'Tis a year shows us the man

The author of a new 'partial biography' of Shakespeare, James Shapiro, was talking on Front Row on Radio 4 tonight about his book 1599: a year in the Life of William Shakespeare published this week by Faber & Faber at £16.99. The idea for his book came to him when watching the film Shakespeare in love which may not fill you with confidence! but it is a good idea. The premise has several aspects, first it is very difficult to find anything new about Shakespeare unless you make it up, try to prove he did not exist or look to his own writings for a further insight into his character, then 1599 was a very interesting year not only in Britain, but also in Shakespeare's life: the Globe was built, Henry V was completed, he wrote Julius Caesar and As you like it in quick succession before starting Hamlet (Shapiro argues Hamlet is the Bard's finest play). The Earl of Essex had returned from the Irish rebellion, and Henry V can be seen as a play for country in the middle of a costly and unpopular war.
Shapiro first 'discovered' Shakespeare not at school or university but through visits to England in the 70's and 80's when he would see 25 plays in a summer by touring the length and breadth of the country. There was a good review of the book in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 4 June 2005.