{"product_id":"this-is-shakespeare-9780241361634","title":"This Is Shakespeare","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''The best introduction to the plays I''ve read, perhaps the best book on Shakespeare, full stop'' Alex Preston, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''It makes you impatient to see or re-read the plays at once'' Hilary Mantel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA genius and prophet whose timeless works encapsulate the human  condition like no others. A writer who surpassed his contemporaries in  vision, originality and literary mastery. Who wrote like an angel,  putting it all so much better than anyone else.\u003cbr\u003eIs this Shakespeare? Well, sort of.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut  it doesn''t really tell us the whole truth. So much of what we say about  Shakespeare is either not true, or just not relevant, deflecting us  from investigating the challenges of his inconsistencies and flaws. This  electrifying new book thrives on revealing, not resolving, the  ambiguities of Shakespeare''s plays and their changing topicality. It  introduces an intellectually, theatrically and ethically exciting writer  who engages with intersectionality as much as with Ovid, with economics  as much as poetry: who writes in strikingly modern ways about  individual agency, privacy, politics, celebrity and sex. It takes us  into a world of politicking and copy-catting, as we watch him emulating  the blockbusters of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, the Spielberg  and Tarantino of their day; flirting with and skirting round the  cut-throat issues of succession politics, religious upheaval and  technological change. The Shakespeare in this book poses awkward  questions rather than offering bland answers, always implicating us in  working out what it might mean.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis\u003c\/i\u003e is Shakespeare. And he needs your attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe best introduction to the plays I've read, perhaps the best book on Shakespeare, full stop\u003c\/b\u003e. This is a model of unpretentious, deeply researched, profoundly approachable criticism. It's a book to give to anyone who loves Shakespeare, but particularly to those who think they don't ... What \u003ci\u003eThis Is Shakespeare \u003c\/i\u003egives the reader most of all, though, is a licence to enjoy the plays without the cultural and historical baggage they so often carry -- Alex Preston * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe question that hangs over every new book on Shakespeare is, \"Why read this one?\" The short answer is, because it is very good indeed.\u003c\/b\u003e There is no shortage of eminent Shakespeare scholars, and in her role as professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford, Smith certainly ranks among them; but more importantly for a book like this, she is perhaps\u003cb\u003e the pre-eminent Shakespeare communicator working today \u003c\/b\u003e... \u003ci\u003eThis is Shakespeare \u003c\/i\u003ecuts through the accumulated crust of \"schoolroom platitudes\", cant and literary piety in order to dust Shakespeare off and see him as he is, was, and might be -- Tim Smith-Laing * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI like this book very much.\u003c\/b\u003e It explains accessibly, with learning lightly worn, why Shakespeare retains such a hold in our culture. \u003cb\u003eSmith has done an exemplary job\u003c\/b\u003e of restoring the greatest of English writers to his own time, and explaining why he then speaks to ours ... \u003cb\u003eAn invigorating examination\u003c\/b\u003e of the pre-eminence of the most revered figure of English letters -- Oliver Kamm * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eQuirky, brilliant \u003c\/b\u003e... what's most bracing about Smith's book is the way she sees the plays as almost organic: \u003cb\u003enot only contradictory but alive\u003c\/b\u003e -- Daniel Swift * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is Shakespeare \u003c\/i\u003ewears its learning very lightly, although there are clear signs of that learning in every chapter ... \u003cb\u003eSane, sensible and suitably woke ... original and provocative analysis\u003c\/b\u003e -- Lisa Hopkins * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eThought-provoking, fizzing with jokes ... Smith is celebrating a Shakespeare who talks to the present. She does it all with such a light touch you barely notice how much you're learning ... \u003cb\u003eAnyone who doesn't understand what the fuss is all about should read \u003ci\u003eThis Is Shakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e -- Colin Burrow * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eAn outstanding book ... a distillation of intricate conceptual and textual cruces into readable prose ... lively and unexpectedly moving ... curious and passionate ...\u003cb\u003e [It reminds me] why I came to enjoy Shakespeare so much in the first place\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sophie Duncan * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntriguing \u003c\/b\u003e... Smith argues that the defining characteristic of Shakespeare's plays is their 'permissive gappiness'. This must also surely be the first book on Shakespeare to use the slang term 'woke' * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA joy to read\u003c\/b\u003e, full of questions, surprises, and new ideas. Smith brings us remarkable new readings of Shakespeare, and a sense of how his work lives on the stage. \u003cb\u003eA wonderful book\u003c\/b\u003e -- Margaret Drabble\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf I were asked to recommend one guide\u003c\/b\u003e for readers keen on discovering what's at stake in Shakespeare's plays, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis Is Shakespeare\u003c\/i\u003e would be it.\u003c\/b\u003e  Deeply informed, never dogmatic, and alert to how performance matters, Emma Smith understands that Shakespeare's plays prompt questions rather than provide answers.\u003cb\u003e  Her elegantly written and sharply observed book is richly rewarding.\u003c\/b\u003e -- James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fascinating new perspective\u003c\/b\u003e and an absolute pleasure to read -- Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eImpeccable\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003ci\u003eThis is Shakespeare \u003c\/i\u003eis the ideal book of its moment for unlocking the works of that most miraculous, mysterious and be-pedestalled figure in English literature [...] \u003cb\u003eSmith's fresh approaches reveal something crucial about Shakespeare's ongoing relevance\u003c\/b\u003e * The Saturday Paper *\u003cbr\u003eThere's an \u003cb\u003einvigorating\u003c\/b\u003e frankness to Smith's approach [...] She generously leads an accessible and insightful route towards a provocative, complicating reading of Shakespeare's work. * GLOBE Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eShakespeare pulled from his pedestal and made contemporary...\u003cb\u003ethis book is terrific\u003c\/b\u003e...informative and, more importantly, very enjoyable * This England *\u003cbr\u003eSmith salvages Shakespeare from the status of isolated genius, and reveals him as an active participant in his own time and place. In turn, we the audience become active participants in the remaking of Shakespeare...\u003cb\u003eThis book puts the pleasure back into the plays, and there is no better reason to read about Shakespeare than that\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sarah Ditum * The Lancet *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePacked with sharp observations and illuminating commentary\u003c\/b\u003e on the works and their afterlives...acute on the plays' modern resonances and how today's theatre troupes handle Will's less woke moments, such as \u003ci\u003eThe Taming of the Shrew\u003c\/i\u003e. They won't cancel Shakey yet! * The Times Books of the Year 2019 *\u003cbr\u003eA brilliant and accessible tour of Shakespeare's plays that is also a radical manifesto for how to read and watch his work. Witty, irreverent and searching, \u003cb\u003ethis book shines dazzling new light on the oeuvre of the world's greatest literary genius.\u003c\/b\u003e * Economist Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003eA tonic ... \u003ci\u003eThis Is Shakespeare \u003c\/i\u003ewill, for some time to come, remain \u003cb\u003erequired reading\u003c\/b\u003e for all those with more than a passing interest in Shakespeare ... ['Gappiness' is] a compelling way of evaluating afresh an author about whom we are often told that everything has been said ... Outstanding ... \u003cb\u003eA model for almost everything that Shakespeare criticism for the general reader should be striving to achieve\u003c\/b\u003e -- Rhodri Lewis * Prospect *\u003cbr\u003eConsistently fascinating [...] there's no denying the wit and intelligence [...] nor the \u003cb\u003edangerous readability\u003c\/b\u003e of this thoughtful study. -- Alexander Larman * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead this and you will be seduced\u003c\/b\u003e -- Val McDermid  (Radio 4, A Good Read)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for previous works by Emma Smith \u003c\/b\u003e\"Emma Smith is a courteous and helpful guide who wears her considerable learning lightly in this enjoyable, well-conceived, well-written book\" -- Andrew Hadfield * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for previous works by Emma Smith: \u003c\/b\u003e\"A fascinating and provocative book\" -- Daniel Swift * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for previous works by Emma Smith: \u003c\/b\u003e\"Delightful... there is a bite in Smith's exuberant tales of buying, selling and displaying Shakespeare... beautifully judged, impeccably researched yet wry and affectionate\" -- Jerry Brotton * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for previous works by Emma Smith \"\u003c\/b\u003eBrilliantly approachable and entertaining ... anarchic, counterintuitive, critical ... perfect\" -- Alex Preston * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for previous works by Emma Smith \u003c\/b\u003e\"Delightful\" * Telegraph *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48733055779159,"sku":"9780241361634","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241361634.jpg?v=1719999296","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/this-is-shakespeare-9780241361634","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}