The Man Shakespeare and His Tragic Life Story

Book excerpt: In 'The Man Shakespeare and His Tragic Life Story' author Frank Harris traces the story of William Shakespeare through his plays, showing how the playwright painted himself in twenty different characters at different stages of his life. Harris argues that Shakespeare is more interesting than other great writers because he painted himself as a young and inexperienced artist, in his eventful maturity, and in his decline. Harris claims that previous commentators have missed the man and his story, and instead idealized him, and thus in this book, he seeks to use scientific methods to recreate Shakespeare, highlighting both his virtues and vices, and ultimately making him clearer to readers.