Ask any Shakespearean what they actually know about the life of the world's preeminent writer. They might reference his plays and sonnets, the occasional conspiracy, and possibly his impact on English language and culture. Less likely is the discussion of him as a person, where he gained inspiration, and what his daily challenges were. While Geoffrey Marsh's new book cannot definitively answer any of these questions, he does open it up to inquiry. And while this unique text does not conform to one specific genre, he meticulously examines resources and lavishes readers with a narrative of William Shakespeare in his thirties.
The importance of this text is that it examines an often neglected time that preceded Shakespeare's most influential and acclaimed works. How did his surroundings and interactions influence his characters, settings, and themes? Marsh presents the complications of human and urban change, shows the connection with language over time, and explains the creation and survival of documents of the period. Living with Shakespeare is, as he describes, “a book about movement, fluctuating stability, human migration and urban change” (4). At the same time, English theater began to make its indelible mark, and it is through the lens of Shakespeare's time at the Theatre in Shoreditch that the story takes shape.
While this book provides historical context to the beginning of the Theatre and its key players in chapters 1 through 7, Shakespeare's life in St. Helen's is treated in chapters 8–10. Marsh focuses on all aspects relating to Shakespeare's dwellings in St. Helen's Parish until the opening of the Globe in 1599. Visually stunning, important illustrations, portraits, maps, and documents throughout the book bolster its authenticity and accessibility. Marsh is fastidious in his uncovering of Shakespeare's haunts in and around the area of the Theatre. In fact, the historical figures embedded in the text read like a cast of characters (or backup singers) to our protagonist, Shakespeare. He ascertains through his research of detailed records the location of one of his homes between Great and Little St. Helen's.
Inserted in the mix of historical records and documents, Marsh imagines Shakespeare as the quintessential urban wanderer: “Tonight, as Shakespeare walks back home towards Bishopsgate, we can pick up his trail. . . . He slips through Bishop's Gate into the City proper” (176). While this technique of embedding Shakespeare as character into this history of place might seem intrusive, Marsh's narration appears smooth and inviting.
Chapters 11–13 focus on St. Helen's Church and its environs. If the parish was aligning itself with Puritan ideology in the waning years of the 1500s, Marsh wonders why Shakespeare resided among this congregation rather than somewhere more artistic. Perhaps his decision to remain in the parish was based on the outbreaks of plague as well as the potential for patrons.
Marsh further explores the micro-ecology of Puritan England in chapters 14–17. In particular, he examines Shakespeare's neighbors, most notably three radical doctors who may have influenced some of his plays. Marsh extracts passages from sundry tragedies and histories such as Macbeth, Othello, II Henry IV and Romeo and Juliet, where roots and herbs are used (as “sedative,” “lucky charm,” “cursing agent”: 281). While it is interesting that there were three doctors/physicians living in the parish (Drs. Turner, Jorden, and Taylor) when Shakespeare did, the relationship of elixirs and poisons in the plays and physicians in the vicinity seems to be a stretch at best.
While the last section of this book is interesting especially in its portrayal of Shakespeare's neighbors and their involvement in witchcraft trials in the early seventeenth century, it is superfluous to the main scope of our playwright's time in St. Helen's while working at the Theatre. In addition, the readers are treated to a voluminous and detailed appendix for further investigation.
In conclusion, the breadth and scope of Marsh's work offers avenues of inquiry into facets of Shakespeare beyond the stage. Scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike can gain a sense of Shakespeare peering from the shadows of the urban imaginary.
