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There are surprises in this book.

Did the Globe theater have toilets? Did Richard really murder all those people? What was this plague that closed theaters? What exactly is a shrew? Was Shakespeare recognized in his own time? Is Petruchio a domineering coward? Is Brutus a pompous nitwit? Are the bad quartos  really all that bad? Why is it called Measure for Measure? Why does Shakespeare have different numbers of acts in his plays? What were the First Folios? What was Venus and Adonis about? What is the casket lottery? Why does he switch from ‘you’ to ‘thou’? Did Shakespeare believe in women’s Lib? Was Richard II topical? Why is Othello such a popular play? Why is Othello black? Have we any of Shakespeare's manuscripts?

To these questions, and questions you never thought to ask, Jim McCrudden, Irish Shakespeareophile, responds with humor and insight. Every play is covered, even disputed ones.