'Fluent and witty . . . confident . . . highly readable'
Kathryn Hughes, GUARDIAN
'Brilliant - so vivid and so sharp, fantastically clever and consistently fascinating'
KATHERINE RUNDELL, author of Super-Infinite
Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler and more complex than you might think . . .
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.
Straight Acting 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.
'Magisterial and saucy . . . This fresh account kickstarts the queer canon of English literature: Shakespeare won't go back in the closet again'
EMMA SMITH, author of This Is Shakespeare
'Engrossing, enlightening and hugely entertaining'
SARAH WATERS, author of Fingersmith
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Straight Acting 9781529390476 Hardback
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- Authors:
- Tosh, Will
- Format:
- Hardback
- ISBN:
- 9781529390476
- Publication Date:
- 13/06/2024
- Publisher:
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Year Published:
- 2024
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Illustrations Note:
- N/A
- Number of Pages:
- 304
- Language:
- English
- SKU:
- 9781529390476