Overview

“Exciting, original, and convincing. . . . This book is essential reading for all concerned with who really wrote the works of Shakespeare. A thrilling journey of discovery."" —Sir Derek Jacobi, Shakespearean actor, Associate Artist, Royal Shakespeare Company Equal parts literary detective story and vivid travelogue, The Shakespeare Guide to Italy chronicles author Richard Paul Roe’s thirty-year quest to find the locations in which Shakespeare set his ten Italian plays—delivering a text which will forever change our understanding of how to read the Bard of Avon and irrevocably alter our vision of who William Shakespeare really was.  More than 150 images illustrate and enhance Roe’s captivating narrative, illuminating his lifelong journey and shining a light into the depths of Shakespeare’s experiences in Italy. Until now, Shakespeare’s use of Italian backdrops—Romeo and Juliet’s Verona, Othello’s Venice, Much Ado About Nothing’s Messina, to name a few—has been the source of controversy and conjecture. With The Shakespeare Guide to Italy, Roe’s meticulous study reveals the secrets that have eluded scholars for centuries.

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9780062074263

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Reviews

Richard Roe's luminous achievement is nothing short of a new revelation--a parting of clouds that, for generations, have obscured the sunshine and scale of Shakespeare's Apennine art. That Shakespeare was a well-traveled Englishman of intimate Italianate sensibilities and experience can no longer be doubted. --Daniel Wright, Ph.D., Director, The Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre

This is a revolutionary and revelatory book, part thrilling detective story and part sober scholarly treatise. --Michael York, Shakespearean actor of stage and screen and co-author of A Shakespearean Actor Prepares

A fascinating look at a largely untouched aspect of Shakespeare's identity and influences. Recommended for Shakespeare enthusiasts and scholars as well as travelers looking for a new perspective, this is also particularly intriguing as a companion to specific plays. -- <i>Library Journal</i> (starred review) An exceptionally entertaining, enlightening, and handsome companion for a thrillingly literate Italian sojourn. -- <i>Booklist</i> Exciting, original, and convincing....This book is essential reading for all concerned with who really wrote the works of Shakespeare. A thrilling journey of discovery. -- Sir Derek Jacobi This is a revolutionary and revelatory book, part thrilling detective story and part sober scholarly treatise. -- Michael York, Shakespearean actor of stage and screen and co-author of <i>A Shakespearean Actor Prepares</i> This represents a hugely significant intervention in the study of Shakespeare and his dramatic works. -- Dr. William Leahy, Head of the School of Arts, Shakespeare Authorship Studies, Brunel University Unless someone can prove him wrong, anyone who claims to have written the plays of Shakespeare needs to show some Italian travel documents. -- Mark Rylance, Founding Artistic Director, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London

Author Information

Richard Paul Roe was a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with specialization in English literature and European history. He held the degree of Juris Doctor Summa Cum Laude from Southwestern University School of Law (California). In addition to a private legal practice spanning forty years, Mr. Roe undertook a lifelong study of Shakespeare’s so-called “Italian Plays.” Investigation into these plays has involved in-depth examination of all the places in which the Italian Plays are set (and to which allusions are made) as well as wide-ranging research at the British Library, the Biblioteque de Lyon, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Huntington Library, and the Getty Center Research Library, among others. Mr. Roe lived in Pasadena, California, until his death in 2010.

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