CONTENTS MAY 2021

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO

SHAKESPEAREWILLIAM

28 Early years and family life Inside the playwright’s relatively humble upbringing in Stratford-upon-Avon

32 From parchment to performance How Shakespeare crafted his masterpieces

34 The Shakespearean stage What was it like to tread the boards in Elizabethan times? 38 Creative milestones A timeline of selected ‘highlights’ from Shakespeare’s career

39 Secrets of the sonnets What Shakespeare’s sonnets reveal about his desires

42 Eight places that shaped Shakespeare A trip to the most important locations in his life

46 Fact, fiction, or somewhere in between? We explore the plausibility behind 13 common statements made about the playwright

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52 Shakespeare and women What can we learn from Shakespeare’s female characters?

53 Shakespeare and religion A look at the biblical inspiration behind his work

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54 The wisdom of Shakespeare We unlock the meaning behind five memorable quotes from Shakespeare’s plays

56 Shakespeare through the ages Assessing the playwright’s enduring legacy today

G Visit the places in Stratford-upon-Avon that shaped Shakespeare’s life and career

FEATURES

58 The history of mermaids Discover how fantastical stories of fish-tailed creatures came to capture the popular imagination – from 15th-century Haiti to Hollywood

62 Spotlight on... Eva Braun Inside the life of the woman who stood by Adolf Hitler’s side

65 In pictures: the Festival of Britain Take a stroll around London’s South Bank in 1951, when thousands of Britons flocked to an exhibition celebrating the nation’s achievements

70 What if... the Romans had won at Teutoburg?

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G Why were our ancestors so fixated by mermaids? G How Eva Braun came to be the Führer’s secret lover

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