Shakespeare: the world as stage by Bill Bryson [review]

I am a fan of Bryson, who is witty, breezy and informative. He is on his usual pace here, running through what is know about Shakespeare (not much) and the various things that people have thought about him (too much).  He debunks a lot of what appears in the more speculative books. A quick and useful corrective to the more expansive works that read so much into a mainly unknown life from his surviving works.

That we have so much text ( a very unusual amount, given the times) and so little actual biographical info, makes Shakespeare a target for all kinds of speculation, most of which tells you more about the author than about Shakespeare.

Got a bone to pick though. Like most English, Bryson parrots the story the Elizabeth didn’t really oppress Catholics, just those who happened the oppose her. Catholics could not attend Mass, were required to attend state approved services, could be fired or financially ruined at any time, could be executed or jailed (pretty much the same thing) for any public display and even powerful nobles had to tread lightly. Yes, loyal citizens were jailed and killed for the crime of being Catholic and nothing else.  Apply those same restrictions to gay, Muslims, blacks and we would be sure that they were being oppressed.