"To my mind this book deserves to cause an earthquake in Shakespeare studies." --John Carey, Emeritus Merton Professor of English, University of Oxford "This challenging book combines a wealth of new contextual material with a sharp eye for the details of contemporary staging. Fitter makes us revisit many familiar passages as if for the first time -- a very rare thing in Shakespeare criticism." --David Norbrook, Professor of English, University of Oxford"A stunning academic achievement . . . indispensable readings..Patiently tracing how the conditions of the decade Fitter calls the Black Nineties show up in the language and plots of Shakespeare’s plays", [the argument is] "for a skeptic . . . properly nuanced, ultimately convincing." --Charles Ross, Professor and Director of Comparative Literature, Purdue University, Renaissance Quarterly"This study of Shakespeare's early work -- 2 Henry VI, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and analysed at greatest length, As You Like It --- argues that the plays leave a number of clues that reveal his political leanings. . . Fitter is often a keen, sometimes astute reader . . . he makes a number of substantial points about the topical nature of the plays." --Andrew Hadfield, University of Sussex,Times Literary Supplement
