WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE A Life of Drama

Old Willie Shakespeare was a bit of a rogue. He was married at 18 to a much older woman, and we learn in this brief but fascinating recounting of the Bard's life that is was a shotgun wedding. The problem with this audio version of an entry in the Arts and Entertainment award-winning Biography series is that you can't shake the feeling that you're missing something. On audio the snippets of famous plays sound distant and echoey, and you know you're missing the visual part of these scenes from past Shakespeare movies. The readings by Sir Derek Jacobi are better. But this audiobook seems the best solution only if you don't have time to watch TV. In other words, this gives you a chance to sample your Shakespeare "as you like it." M.C. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 99]