Contested Will - James Shapiro

I read this a couple of months ago, on the advice of a friend, following a discussion about Shakespeare. I'd read Ben Crystal's book about Shakespeare, which had a different slant, more about the interpretation of the plays, and how Shakespeare as an author directed his actors through his writing.

I found this very accessible, and a fairly devastating rebuff to those who think that the works of Shakespeare were written by anyone other than William Shakespeare the actor.

I'm not giving a full review, as this is not a recent read, but I'd certainly give it 8 or 9 out of 10. Having read it I went straight out and read 1599.