THE LODGER Shakespeare on Silver Street

Nicholl's literary detection—highly conjectural—on William Shakespeare focuses on the years 1603-1605, when the playwright was in his early forties. The well-crafted work is replete with details of daily life and human interactions during the Jacobean era that may have inspired the Bard's writings. Gareth Armstrong deftly narrates this most British of scholarly works but stumbles a bit while attempting the American accents of literary researchers, as well as with some French pronunciations. However, his articulate delivery of this atmospheric slice of life—as well as its embedded theatrical lines—illuminates the historical context of Shakespeare’s works. Conjured from the only surviving record of the Bard's spoken words—court evidence given in Westminster—Nicholl’s literary meanderings may shed new light on some of the greatest plays ever written. A.W. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2010]