I really liked this read, i found it really informative and it presented the information in a really accessible way. I thought the lineage and progression of the history was done in a way that made sense and all the different layers built upon the one before. I thought that the writing was done well and that there were only a couple of places that left me wanting more.

Amazing look at the Globe theater, Shakespeare and company and London way back in the day. I'd love to visit London someday! Great research and wonderful history.

I love going to the Globe, although I can’t afford it very often (but I still try to enjoy at least a couple of plays a year, which is the least I can do considering I almost live on its doorstep by London standards ;) ). My knowledge about how it came to be was a bit fragmented, so I was glad to be able to read this book.

Throughout it, you can feel the author’s passion for her subject—the device of fictionalising Shakespeare’s first visit to London isn’t what I’d expect from academic research, and I’m not sure it’s pareticularly welcome, but on the other hand, it’s definitely a window on that passion I mentioned, and is entertaining no matter what. It’s also a window on London at the end of the 16th and the early 17th centuries, and I admit I wish this window would’ve been larger, because I couldn’t get enough details on what the city must’ve looked and felt like at that time, all the more now that I can fully compare it to nowadays London (Shoreditch for Burbage’s original Theatre, Bankside for the Globe, the Rose and Blackfriars’ locations, and so on).

I appreciated that the book chronicled the building of the modern Globe, which I believe is as much part of that theatre’s history as the original one, for starters because it’s on its way to last just as long and possibly more, considering the length of its current lease. I learnt about quite a few interesting facts in both cases, from the controversy around Sam Wanamaker’s project (an American trying to resurrect the Globe! So shocking!) to how the original Globe came to be, built from the timbers of the Theatre that Burbage & Co happily scavenged to keep their dream going.

The book also sheds light on the political and social climate at the time, an interesting part since Shakespeare’s plays were often in accordance with current events for his public to better relate. On the other hand, I believe I spotted some factual mistakes that may have been corrected through more careful editing (but I’m not a specialist, so, well, for what it’s worth…).

Conclusion: A good introduction that paves the way for more reading, although not going in-depth.

This book was everything I wished it to be. Informative but not dry, funny and captivating but not trivial. After reading it you'll not only know more about Shakespeare and his Globe but also about his colleagues and London.

Actual rating: 4,5 stars

This book is a mix between fiction and non-fiction. The story is filled with factual and historical accounts, but added in are stories about what Catharine Arnold imagined life in Shakespeare's time was actually like. This might not be something everybody likes, but I loved it. I already know quite a lot about Shakespeare (I did a big project about him in my final year of high school + I study English Language and Culture at my university), but this book made it real. Like I was walking in London and hearing about Shakespeare and his fellow actors myself. There was also information in this book I didn't know, which is always a plus because that means it isn't the regular set of facts you hear so often.

The only reason I didn't round up to a 5 stars is the final chapter. Most of the facts I didn't know are in that chapter, but the pace is just slightly different and slower than the rest of the book. It therefore was less enjoyable to read than the majority of the book.

Overall this is a really good book & I definitely want a copy for my personal library :)

I wanted to love this book that chronicles the history of the theater associated with William Shakespeare. Unfortunately the author's liberties in chronicling young Shakespeare's life took some of the enjoyment away from it. The parts about the Globe were more interesting though.

I'm a big fan of Catherine Arnold's approach to historical writing as she takes more of a novelistic approach to bring the past to life. I'm aware this isn't for everyone as it involves a degree of speculation about people's thoughts and motivations, plus possible events and meetings, but it works for me.

I'm also a huge fan of Shakespeare; I'm an English teacher so he is pretty central to my own work! I thought I knew quite a lot about his time in London, but this has opened up my understanding of the era considerably. The book doesn't just focus on Shakespeare and the Globe, as I was expecting, but instead tackles a huge range of issues and concerns contemporary to Shakespeare's life. This book places him within the context of his peers, as well as the political sea changes that shaped theatre and the cultural landscape. It also highlights the financial wranglings and various allegiances that made theatre productions possible in an age beset by plague, treason and uncertainty; you get a real feel for the precarious nature of the times through Arnold's narrative.

The story wouldn't be complete without bringing the story up to date, which Arnold does by including the rise of Sam Wanamaker's Globe in the 1990s. This is where I felt the narrative lost some of its vibrancy, falling back on interviews with some of the people who made the new project possible. It needed including, but it felt a slight ending to a fabulously engaging book (although I'm obviously extremely glad that we have the new Globe!)

Overall, this is an excellent evocation of Shakespeare's London that goes far beyond the walls of his most famous theatre.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. The author is obviously a skillful writer, but I was confused as to the purpose of the book. It sits somewhere between "real" history and historical fiction- too much narrative for the former, but without a plot like the latter. I don't like to write long negative reviews, so I'll just say it wasn't for me. A shame, as the era is one of my favourites.

A very interesting approach to looking at Shakespeare. Instead of focusing on just the plays, or just the man, or on possible alternatives to the "man from Stratford," Arnold instead looks at the plays within the context of the theaters where they were performed and the society that flocked to them.

Full of interesting details, the book does not neglect other playwrights of the time or Shakespeare's fellows in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Accessible instead of ponderous and scholarly, you'll learn so much about how theater worked in Elizabethan England, information that sheds light on the plays as they were perceived by the people of the time.

Arnold does not neglect the most recent history of The Globe either. Her final chapter covers the recently constructed replica of the theater and of the indoor Elizabethan theater built nearby.

Globe is a delightful read from start to finish. From an imagined scene that brings to life late Tudor London, Arnold takes us into a fascinating history of the London theatre scene, and Shakespeare's place in it. Arnold's prose is a delight to read and there is never a dull moment. While I already had a pretty good idea about theatre in the Elizabethan era, I still learnt a few new things from reading this book, and it will certainly appeal to both history lovers and Shakespeare fans thanks to its accessibility and easy reading style. This is definitely a book I plan to buy in the future, to keep a copy on my shelf.

Arnold offers a tour of Elizabethan and Jacobean London, showing how a confluence of events (dissolution of the monasteries cutting loose a bunch of people with experience in mystery plays, London's extremely youthful population of authority-challengers, elites waking up to the power of sponsored theater companies) allowed the theaters to flourish. Her book wraps up with my overall purpose for reading it during a London research trip--how an American actor dedicated decades of his life to reconstructing a Globe Theater on the banks of the Thames.