Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life
Author: O'Toole, Fintan
ISBN: 9781035908707
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year first published: 04 Nov 2025
Pages: 208 Format: Paperback / softback
The works of Shakespeare have become staples of literature. They are everywhere, from our early schooling to the lecture rooms of academia, from classic theatre to modern adaptations on stage and screen. But how well do we really know his plays?
In this witty, iconoclastic book, the bestselling author Fintan O'Toole examines four of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedies- Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. He shows how their tragic heroes have been over-simplified and moulded to fit restrictive, conservative values, and restores the true heart and spirit of the classics.
'I've never read a book like this before- it's challenging, irreverent and funny.' Roddy Doyle
ISBN: 9781035908707
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year first published: 04 Nov 2025
Pages: 208 Format: Paperback / softback
The works of Shakespeare have become staples of literature. They are everywhere, from our early schooling to the lecture rooms of academia, from classic theatre to modern adaptations on stage and screen. But how well do we really know his plays?
In this witty, iconoclastic book, the bestselling author Fintan O'Toole examines four of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedies- Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. He shows how their tragic heroes have been over-simplified and moulded to fit restrictive, conservative values, and restores the true heart and spirit of the classics.
'I've never read a book like this before- it's challenging, irreverent and funny.' Roddy Doyle
