Off the shelf

Inspired by a real-life episode, Simon Mayo’s novel ‘Mad Blood Stirring’ tells the powerful story of a Shakespeare production by African American prisoners of war at Dartmoor prison in England, near the end of the War of 1812.

From rudeness to gross behavior, Ruth Goodman’s book “How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England” sheds some surprising light on what bad behavior really meant, including the reason that Shakespeare had Sampson threaten to “bite my thumb” at another character…

A detailed but absurd decor chat with Lady Macbeth is one of Susan Harlan’s many hilarious design interviews with literary figures in her new book “Decorating a Room of One’s Own.”

In her new novel “The Shakespeare Requirement,” Julie Schumacher continues her satirical commentary on the humanities in academia.

This excerpt from a new book by Katherine West Scheil explores the 19th-century transformation of the Anne Hathaway Cottage into a tourist destination.

Jonathan Croall writes about Frances de la Tour’s 1979 performance as Hamlet, the first woman to do so on the English stage since Sarah Bernhardt.

This excerpt from Ayanna Thompson’s book explores Peter Sellars’s “uniquely American take on William Shakespeare” and his 1980 production of King Lear.

Stephen Greenblatt discusses and reads short excerpts from his new book, “Tyrant,” which looks at how Shakespeare portrayed political leaders in his plays.

Read an excerpt from ‘Macbeth’, Norwegian detective crime novelist Jo Nesbø’s retelling of Shakespeare’s play, from the Hogarth Shakespeare series.

Read an excerpt from actor Paterson Joseph’s book about playing the role of Brutus in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed 2012 production of Julius Caesar.

What’s it like to play the role of Lear onstage? In this excerpt from Year of the Mad King: The Lear Diaries, actor Antony Sher gives us a window into the rehearsal process for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of King…

Celebrate Black History Month with five books and one essay about race in early modern Europe and in Shakespeare’s plays.