The “hook” that had me running to the bookstore as soon as I read the review of this book in the San Francisco Chronicle was the promise that here we would find out where Shakespeare got his inspiration for his play The Tempest and about the man who actually wrote the account of the events and whose words were often adapted to the play. Woodward, indeed, delivers on that promise, even if some of what he relates is based on speculation. In the first part of the book we learn about William Strachey, a friend of John Donne and a hanger on with a literary crowd in London who has aspirations to become a great author and poet. Having little success and squandering most of his resources he signs on to be part of a large contingent that will sail to Jamestown, Virginia in order to strengthen that colony. He is on the flag ship, Sea Venture, the largest of a fleet of nine vessels and containing the men who will become the new leaders of the struggling community. Unfortunately, the fleet runs into a hurricane and the Sea Venture is run aground on one of the islands of Bermuda. Strachey keeps records of what happens during their sojourn on Bermuda and when they finally manage to escape and travel to Jamestown he becomes the secretary who keeps the records of the events in Jamestown.

The last third of the book Woodward gives a thorough account of the episodes in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, that were undoubtedly inspired by the account of his sojourn that Strachey mailed to England in a letter to a woman he hoped would become his literary patron and sponsor the book about his experiences he hoped to publish . These two portions of the story provide a very interesting account, not only of the history of the castaways on Bermuda and how they survived for so long, but also giving us insight into how Shakespeare was accustomed to adapt material from outside sources to create his dramas that have stood the test of time.

A surprising bonus this book provides is the middle portion of the story. Woodward, using many sources written by several of the colonists during that time, gives us an incredible account of life in Jamestown starting just after the winter called “the starving time” until Strachey leaves to return to England. We see how the colony was governed, what daily life was like, the problems with the natives, and the attempts to expand and create other settlements. Although I had a few quibbles with Woodward’s speculations, especially with his describing Strachey’s reaction to Shakespeare’s play (entirely speculative!) I enjoyed this book immensely. It is not an academic report but written for the entertainment of the average reader. It succeeds admirably in what it set out to do. ( )

Since I work with Hobson Woodward, the author of A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' (Viking, 2009), it certainly wouldn't be fair of me to review it in the same way I would review any other book. But I will say that I have read A Brave Vessel, and enjoyed it greatly. Hobson's done a great job of recreating the Sea Venture voyage and its aftermath, and argues persuasively that William Strachey's narrative of the events was known to Shakespeare and utilized by him in the composition of The Tempest. He puts the notes to good use by adding further details there, and offers an excellent and lengthy bibliography.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2009/... ( )