Straight Acting The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare

<p><b>''Fluent and witty . . . confident . . . highly readable''</b><br><b>Kathryn Hughes, <i>GUARDIAN</i></b><b><br><br>''Lively and accomplished''</b><br><b>Sophie Duncan, <i>LITERARY REVIEW</i></b><br><br><b>''E</b><b>ngaging, enthusiastic and informative''</b><br><b>Philip Hensher, <i>SPECTATOR</i></b><br><br><b>''Brilliant - so vivid and so sharp, fantastically clever and consistently fascinating''<br>KATHERINE RUNDELL, author of <i>Super-Infinite</i></b><br><br><b>Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler and more complex than you might think . . .</b><br><br>Shakespeare''s work was profoundly influenced by the queer culture of his time - much of it totally integrated into mainstream society. From a relentless schooling in Latin and Greek homoeroticism, to a less formal education on the streets and in smoky taverns, from the gender-bending of the early comedies to the astonishingly queer literary scene that nurtured Shakespeare''s sonnets, this is a story of artistic development and of personal crisis.<br><br><i>Straight Acting</i> is a surprising portrait of Shakespeare''s queer lives - his own and those in his plays and poems. It is a journey back in time and through Shakespeare''s England, revealing a culture that both endorsed and supressed same-sex desire. It is a call to stop making Shakespeare act straight and to recognise how queerness powerfully shaped the life and career of the world''s most famous playwright.<br><br><b>''Magisterial and saucy . . . This fresh account kickstarts the queer canon of English literature: Shakespeare won''t go back in the closet again''<br>EMMA SMITH, author of <i>This Is Shakespeare</i></b></p>