“This is a great introduction to Shakespeare and his plays for undergraduates, in particular. Dympna Callaghan writes lucid, lively prose, and she explains complex historical points clearly. There is no mystification here, and students should find this an inviting guide to Shakespeare as a dramatist embedded in a particular historical moment.”―Jean Howard, Columbia University
“This is a thoroughly excellent book which deserves to be widely read by scholars, students and the general public”―Andrew Murphy, University of St Andrews
“In ‘Who Was William Shakespeare?’ one of our leading Shakespearean critics goes back to the fundamentals of Shakespearean scholarship, and rethinks the entire Shakespeare canon in the light of the world and the life from which it was fashioned. This is a book for anyone, expert or otherwise, who has ever marvelled at Shakespeare’s plays and wondered about the experiences and the assumptions that inform them.” ―Michael Dobson, University of Birmingham