Shakespeare's Restless World

By: Neil Macgregor

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Synopsis: William Shakespeare lived through a pivotal period in human history. With the discovery of the New World, the horizons of Old Europe were expanding dramatically, long-cherished certainties were crumbling and life was exhilaratingly uncertain. What ideas and assumptions did Londoners bring with them when they went to see Shakespeare's plays in the 1590s and 1600s - what were they thinking? What was it like living in a world so radically different from anything their parents had experienced?Shakespeare's Restless World uncovers the fascinating stories behind 20 objects from Shakespeare's life and times to recreate his world and the minds of his audiences. The objects range from the rich (such as the hoard of gold coins that make up the Salcombe treasure) to the very humble, like the battered trunk and worn garments of an unknown pedlar. Each of them allows MacGregor to explore one of the defining themes of the Shakespearean age - globalisation, reformation, piracy, Islam, magic and many others. MacGregor weaves Shakespeare's words themselves into the histories of his objects to suggest where his ideas about religion, national identity, the history of England and the world, human nature itself, may have come from. The result is an excitingly fresh and unexpected portrait of Shakespeare's dangerous and dynamic world.