I was in a nonfiction kick and when a writer I love decided to write about another writer I love I knew this was something I had to read. Byron’s curiosity yet his need to stay true to facts makes this a very readable and short biography. The facts about Shakespeare’s life are very few and far between but this biography keeps to them. If you want to know more about the Bard but don’t want to be bogged down with hearsay and imagination this is the biography for you.

Yes, it weighs five pounds and has 3,440 pages. And, at almost $70, it’s pricey. But I consider this edition of Shakespeare the most definitive ever published. It’s based on the authoritative Oxford University Press volumes with additional essays to assist in understanding what Shakespeare was up to. This is a one-volume edition of the greatest works of the English Language. Every home should have one.