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Loading... Chasing Shakespeares (2003)by Sarah Smith
Literary mystery about the authorship of Shakespeare's works. Favorite line which was oft repeated: "God is a librarian." (  ) Marzia22 | Apr 3, 2013 |  Every now and then I come across a book that I can't put down. Chasing Shakespeares is one of them. I am a Shakespeare collector who has delved into the author controversy. I usually come out wondering how people can believe such nonsense. But Sarah Smith weaves such a compelling story of diligent and scholarly Shakespearian research that she almost has me believing I am reading fact and not fiction. Moi recommends. (  ) moibibliomaniac | Jun 10, 2012 | I adored this book. I think Shakespeare is one of the great mysteries of the world. Who was Shakespeare? He must have been sent by aliens--or angels. If nothing about the controversy about who wrote Shakespeare's plays captures your imagination, then you probably won't like this. If you are interested in the Shakespeare controversy, one of the best books about it I've read is Charlton Ogburn's The Mysterious William Shakespeare, the Myth and the Reality (1984). After reading the book, the one thing I was absolutely convinced of was that the man from Stratford did not write the plays. If you want to read the other side of the issue, about "how a young man from a small provincial town moves to Lond in the late 1580s and, in a remarkably short time, becomes the greatest playwright not of his age but of all time. . . . How did Shakespeare become Shakespeare? Read Stephen Greenblatt's Will in the World. My favorite quote from Smith's book: "I believe God is a librarian. . . that literature is holy; it is that best part of our souls that we break off and give each other, and God has a special dispensation for it, angels to guard its making and its preservation." ( ) labwriter | Jan 6, 2010 | I would almost put this in a category with Alan Wall's School of Night as a research mystery of Shakespeare's authorial origins. Interesting characters put together the pieces of the puzzle in a way that makes different truths, depending on the angle from which you want to see it. (  ) randalrh | Oct 12, 2009 | Good mostly for Shakespeare connections and plot. The hero is a callow youth hard to identify with, actually hard to identify. (  )1  janerogers | Jun 29, 2008 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743464834, Paperback)With this exhilarating novel from the author the San Francisco Chronicle calls "daring" and "splendid," Sarah Smith cuts to the heart of one of literature's most fascinating and enduring mysteries: the enigma of Sir William Shakespeare.Meet Joe Roper, a thoroughly modern graduate student who has landed the job of a lifetime working in the famed Kellogg Collection of Elizabethan texts and curiosities. He's been passionate about Shakespeare since reading a duct-taped paperback copy of Macbeth as a kid. But if all the world's a stage, Joe's working-class roots do little to prepare him for his role in the academic arena. Enter Posy Gould, stage right. A glamorous rising star at Harvard, she insists that a letter Joe's found, signed by one W. Shakespeare of Stratford, is a career-making discovery for them both -- particularly because the letter suggests that the plays were not written from Shakespeare's quill. What follows is a literary adventure story that places Joe and Posy in a world where the London Eye looks out over Shakespeare's city, Hollywood producers rub elbows with the Queen's court, and an unsolved mystery spans across five centuries and two continents. A first-rate thriller from one of the masters of the genre, Chasing Shakespeares is also an enduring tale about love, art, and poetic justice. (retrieved from Amazon Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:29:42 -0400) "Meet Joe Roper, tough-minded young graduate student, who has been lucky enough to land a job cataloging the famed Kellogg Collection of Elizabethan texts and curiosities. Joe's been passionate about Shakespeare since he read a duct-taped paperback at age nine and found the witches, warriors, murderers, and ghosts as much fun as Stephen King, but his working-class roots make him a fish out of water in the academic world. He is seemingly as far from adventure as it's possible to be - until the delicious Posy Gould enters, stage right. A glamorous rising star at Harvard, she insists that a letter Joe has found, signed by one W. Shakespeare of Stratford, is a career-making discovery for them both - because the letter says Shakespeare didn't write the plays." "To Joe's mind, the letter is a forgery. When Posy insists they test it, the two literary sleuths head for England to prove their clashing theories. But they find themselves in a world where the London Eye looks out over Shakespeare's city, Hollywood producers rub elbows with Elizabethan spies, and mystery shadows the heart of Westminster Abbey and the lanes of rural England. And Joe and Posy find that, when you start chasing Shakespeares, what you find is not only who he was, but who you are, and how far you're willing to go."--BOOK JACKET.… (more) |
LibraryThing AuthorSarah Smith is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
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