Shakespeare before Shakespeare : Stratford-upon -Avon, Warwickshire, and the Elizabethan state / Glyn Parry and Cathryn Enis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parry, G. J. R., author.

Enis, Cathryn, author.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Family.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Friends and associates.

Shakespeare family.

Dudley family.

Arden family.

Stratford-upon-Avon (England)--History--16th century.

Stratford-upon-Avon (England).

Great Britain--Politics and government--1485-1603.

Great Britain.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Families.

Friendship.

Politics and government.

England--Stratford-upon-Avon.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

ix, 213 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Summary:

Before William Shakespeare wrote world-famous plays on the themes of power and political turmoil, the Shakespeare family of Stratford-upon-Avon and their neighbors and friends were plagued by false accusations and feuds with the government-conflicts that shaped Shakespeare's sceptical understanding of the realities of power. This ground-breaking study of the world of the young William Shakespeare in Stratford and Warwickshire discusses many recent archival discoveries to consider three linked families, the Shakespeares, the Dudleys, and the Ardens, and their battles over regional power and government corruption. Robert Dudley, earl of Leceister, and Ambrose Dudley, earl of Warwick, used politics, the law, history, and lineage to establish their authority in Warwickshire and Stratford, challenging political and social structures and collective memory in the region. The resistance of Edward Arden-a second cousin of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother-and his friends and family culminated in his execution on false treason charges in 1583. By then the Shakespeare family also had direct experience with the London government's power: in 1569, Exchequer informers, backed by influential politicians at Court, accused John Shakespeare, William's father, of illegal wood dealing and usury. Despite previous claims that John had resolved these charges by 1572, the book's new sources show the Exchequer's continuing demands forced his withdrawal from Stratford politics by 1577, and undermined his business career in the early 1580s, when young William first gained an understanding of his father's troubles. This complicated community directly impacted Shakespeare's own perspective on local and national politics and social structures, connecting his early experiences in Stratford and Warwickshire with many of the themes later found in his plays.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. The Dudleys

2. The Ardens

3. The Shakespeares

4. The Trial of John Somerville and Edward Arden

5. The Aftermath.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780198862918

0198862911

OCLC:

1153274026