Title: A Fine Popular Biography of Shakespeare
Review: In calling Holden's book a "popular" biography, I do not mean to denigrate his scholarship. Holden has done a lot of research, but he wears his learning lightly. His biography is "popular" in the best sense - gracefully written, mercifully short (300 pages), interesting, and entertaining. He neither gets bogged down in minutia, nor does he oversimplify. Some of his conclusions may be controversial (and what is not controversial, in Shakespeare studies?) but Holden gives his reasons, and generously references opposing views, so that readers can make up their own minds as to the plausibility of his deductions.The book may be a little confusing to absolute beginners, and it might not contain enough detailed argument to satisfy academic scholars. But I would imagine that most everybody else would find in it a great deal of enjoyment, information, and interest.
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