'Enlightening, moving' SIR IAN MCKELLEN From the acclaimed and bestselling biographer Jonathan Bate, a luminous new exploration of Shakespeare and how his themes can untangle comedy and tragedy, learning and loving in our modern lives.
Jonathan Bate Book order
This British author explores the profound connection between humanity and the natural world. His work, deeply influenced by Romanticism and with a keen focus on Shakespeare, offers insightful explorations of the human spirit and its place within the wider ecosystem. Through his critical and academic writings, he provides unique interpretations of classic texts while engaging with pressing ecological concerns. His prose is both scholarly and accessible, inviting readers to delve into complex themes with fresh understanding.






- 2022
- 2021
A dazzling biography of two interwoven, tragic lives: John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald. 'Highly engaging ... Go now, read this book' THE TIMES
- 2020
A dazzling new biography of Wordsworth's radical life as a thinker and poetical innovator, published to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth.
- 2020
How the Classics Made Shakespeare
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
"This book grew from the inaugural E. H. Gombrich Lectures in the Classical Tradition that I delivered in the autumn of 2013 at the Warburg Institute of the University of London, under the title, "Ancient Strength: Shakespeare and the Classical Tradition"--Preface, page ix.
- 2012
Shakespeare: staging the world
- 272 pages
- 10 hours of reading
Presents a fresh view of the early modern world through the eyes of Shakespeare, his players and audiences. This book illustrates the Catholic counterculture that is revealed through the failed Gunpowder Plot, which was later to prove the inspiration for Macbeth.
- 2012
Shakespeare's Britain
- 96 pages
- 4 hours of reading
From the common playgoers to the royal patrons, this book explores Britain from the perspective of Shakespeares audience revealing how the significant issues of the day were explored at the playhouse through objects and quotations from Shakespeares plays
- 2010
English Literature: A Very Short Introduction
- 179 pages
- 7 hours of reading
A renowned critic, biographer, and Shakespeare scholar, Jonathan Bate provides in this Very Short Introduction a lively and engaging overview of the literature that Jorge Luis Borges called "the richest in the world." From the medieval "Hymn of Caedmon" to George Orwell's "Why I Write," from Jane Austen to Ian McEwan, and from Winnie the Pooh to Dr. Johnson, this brilliant, compact survey stretches across the centuries, exploring the major literary forms (poetry, novel, drama, essay and more), the many histories and theories of the very idea of literature, and the role of writers in shaping English, British, and post-imperial identities. Bate illuminates the work of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Dickens, and many other major figures of English literature. He looks at the Renaissance, Romanticism, and Modernism, at the birth of the novel and the Elizabethan invention of the idea of a national literature, and at the nature of writing itself. Ranging from children's literature to biography, this is an indispensable guide and an inspiration for anyone interested in England's magnificent literary heritage.
- 2009
This manga version of King Lear is set during the era of the Last of the Mohicans - circa 1759, during a crucial time of invasion and displacement along the American frontier. Lear is a venerated Mohican chieftain entering his final days. His elder daughters, Regan and Goneril - the evil pairing - are the more Westernised; Cordelia, with the looks of an Indian princess, is the traditionalist. In this unique interpretation of Shakespeare's tragic tale, a mountaintop snowstorm makes for a dramatic backdrop where savage torture and plentiful scalpings make for bloody action.
- 2009
This edition of Much Ado About Nothing is part of the groundbreaking Cambridge School Shakespeare series established by Rex Gibson. Remaining faithful to the series' active approach it treats the play as a script to be acted, explored and enjoyed. As well as the complete script of the play, you will find a variety of classroom-tested activities, an eight-page colour section and a selection of notes including information on characters, performance, history and language.
- 2008
The complete works of William Shakespeare
- 1263 pages
- 45 hours of reading
Gathers all of Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and poems.


