Impressive!
I have often wondered about the mysterious woman who was married to William Shakespeare. Ann Hathaway, when she is mentioned at all, is dismissed as an intellectual midget at best, a hindrance and a bitch at worst. This book attempts, brilliantly, to paint a broader, kinder portrait. Using a vast array of contemporary sources, Greer suggests that many commonly held views have in fact more to do with the thinking of our own time than Shakespeare's, and have little to do with what the reality often was. She raises more questions than she can answer, certainly, but what an impressive hypothesis! Thorough, thoughtful, and sympathetic - and rather daring, I must say. It leaves me with a greater appreciation for the Bard's work, and a longing to have met Mistress Shakespeare. Well done!
(My only complaint? This book is just crying out for appendices - Shakespeare's complete will would have been helpful, for example - but never mind.)
