The Life of William Shakespeare

This rare text is the first ever biography of Shakespeare, written by one of the liveliest dramatists and poets of the early 18th century.

This landmark in our understanding of the man and his work is introduced by one of the most original biographers of our own time and richly illustrated with contemporary images.

Nicholas Rowe’s Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear was published in 1709 as the preface to his pioneering edition of the plays. Rowe, together with Thomas Betterton, the greatest actor of the period, carried out archival research and interviewed widely to collect as much information about Shakespeare as possible. This is as close as we will ever get to the people who knew and worked with Shakespeare.

Rowe’s edition of the plays was also the first to be illustrated. This edition has 25 pages of these fascinating early images, mostly based on contemporary performance: a unique and charming picture of Shakespeare in performance.