Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

In a history writ large like the Bard himself, acclaimed author James Shapiro examines the biggest controversy in literature: Who wrote William Shakespeare's plays? In the process, Shapiro considers what this debate tells us about ourselves and the way we read now.

The New York Times - Jeremy McCarter

[Shapiro's] refreshing method is to zoom all the way out, taking an interest "not in what people think—which has been stated again and again in unambiguous terms—so much as why they think it." Working its way back to the earliest doubters, Shapiro's book offers both history and historiography, a mix that yields insights even for those who don't know their "Othello" from their "Pericles."

James Shapiro is the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1985. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at Columbia and the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books, most recently A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and grants from institutions such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. He has written for The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. Mr. Shapiro lives in New York with his wife and son.