Sir Stanley Wells is one of the world's greatest authorities on William Shakespeare. Here he brings a lifetime of learning and reflection to bear on some of the most tantalising questions about the poet and dramatist that there are. How did he think, feel, and work? What were his relationships like? What did he believe about death? What made him laugh? This freshly thought and immensely engaging study wrestles with fundamental debates concerning Shakespeare's personality and life. The mysteries of how Shakespeare lived, whom and how he loved, how he worked, how he produced some of the greatest and most abidingly popular works in the history of world literature and drama, have fascinated readers for centuries. This concise, crystalline book conjures illuminating insights to reveal Shakespeare as he was. Wells brings the writer and dramatist alive, in all his fascinating humanity, for readers of today.

‘It is, I think, incontestable to claim that no single person in history has done more for the study and appreciation of Shakespeare than Stanley Wells. This book asks four beguilingly simple questions which result in deeply fascinating and exciting journeys into Shakespeare's mind and practice. As you read, you are very likely to exclaim, as I did, ‘Why the hell didn't my English teacher talk like this? Actors, directors, producers, lecturers, teachers, students, and all who want to know and understand more will hug this book to them.'

Stephen Fry

‘If this book wasn't short I wouldn't trust it. There is very little to go on in trying to find Shakespeare the man, and Stanley Wells doesn't pad anything out with wishful speculation. Having studied his works for longer than any man alive he is almost uniquely placed to do this detective work. In his tenth decade Wells has lost none of his curiosity or his eagerness to share his intimate knowledge.'

Harriet Walter

‘Stanley Wells illuminates and entertains – brilliant!'

Kenneth Branagh

‘A truly excellent book – I enjoyed every page. I am sure it will be read with appreciation by all who care for Shakespeare, or are curious about the inner turmoil of his life.'

Claire Tomalin

'This illuminating compilation … helps separate the man from the myth.'

Source: Publishers Weekly

‘Wells is our pre-eminent Shakespearean, and here he reflects magisterially on the topic that has absorbed his life for seven decades … [His] book offers a readable, pacy and personal introduction to Shakespeare’s works, and to Wells’s own important role, part-Prospero, part-Puck, in their popularisation. And if you’re still wondering: what Shakespeare was really like remains, happily, a mystery.’

Source: The Telegraph

‘Wells roots his picture of the playwright and poet in evidence and logic, and he’s too erudite to be anything but modest in his conjectures - which is much the appeal of this book.’

Jonathan Mandell Source: New York Theater

‘Stanley Wells, the nonagenarian dean of Shakespeare scholars, condenses decades of living with Shakespeare into What Was Shakespeare Really Like? … Commonsensical, easy-going, Mr. Wells wants to encounter Shakespeare as a personality.’

Source: The Wall Street Journal

‘Just as any production of a Shakespeare play reveals as much about its interpreters as its playwright, so Wells paints a portrait of himself alongside his subject. That the reader will still likely be glad of it is testament to the author’s unwavering enthusiasm and insight.’

Rory Kinnear Source: The Guardian

‘…secret, passionate urgings and scoldings were the seeds of [Shakespeare's] creativity. Professor Wells deserves a round of applause for bringing them into the light.’

John Walsh Source: The Mail on Sunday

‘Inherently interesting, insightful, absorbing, eloquent, thoughtful and thought-provoking, [this] is an unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library biography collections and supplemental William Shakespeare curriculum studies lists.’

Katherine Persechino Source: Library Bookwatch

‘Inherently interesting, insightful, absorbing, eloquent, thoughtful and thought-provoking, [this book] is an unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library biography collections and supplemental William Shakespeare curriculum studies lists.’

James A. Cox Source: Midwest Book Review