The Quest for Shakespeare
by Joseph Pearce
List Price:
Our Price: $13.45
You Save: $6.50 (33%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.31 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Joseph PearceEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04
ISBN: 1586172247
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Book Reviews of The Quest for Shakespeare
Book Review: A Great First Half
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read many books on Shakespeare and knew about his possible Catholicism. I looked forward to reading "Quest for Shakespeare" and was very impressed with Pearce's scholarship; he states his case clearly and stays unbiased for the first half of the book. In one or two places he drew conclusions which seemed based on his own beliefs rather than the "proof" he presented, but they were minor. I am convinced Shakespeare was a Catholic.
Starting with chapter eleven, however, Pearce begins a bigoted diatribe against homosexuals and Protestants. His logic flies out the window as he paints Shakespeare as a boring, saintly figure with no basis in reality. His idea that that Elizabethan Catholics were conservative churchgoers does not fit history. The reformation happened not only because of corruption in the Catholic church but also a dissatisfaction with everday catholic life. Catholics loved theater and supported it. Most Protestants did not. England's Anglicans were the exception. Actors and writers of plays were lumped with prostitutes and thieves and Shakespeare was a part of this world. Do I believe he was a recusant Catholic? Definitely. But I also believe he was ambitious, litigious, and possibly open to the lax sexuality of the period.
Pearce paints Marlowe as a villain (gay) and Shakespeare as a saint
(straight?) It is irrelevant whether Shakespeare was gay or straight but ugly hatemongering lessens Pearce's strong scholarship and opens up his other statements to scrutiny. His bias continues as he lumps all protestants with the Puritans, and when a Protestant lies he considers it "doublespeak", when a Catholic lies it is the "art of equivocation".
I give the book three stars for the first half. The second half is ugly, illogical and biased.
Biographies & Memoirs Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in No Nonsense Shakespeare
Throne of Blood - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-05-27; DVD
Best price: $26.00
Price in other shops:
Ran - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2005-11-22; DVD
Best price: $23.45
Price in other shops:
Grigori Kozintsev's King LearFACETS VIDEO; Release date: 2007-01-30; DVD
Best price: $17.47
Price in other shops:
Julius CaesarWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-11-07; DVD
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
![King Lear [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ] Image](/images/King-Lear-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-2-Import-Great-Britain-B000GWIANQ-X.jpg)
King Lear [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]DVD
Best price: $22.61
Richard Burton's HamletImage Entertainment; Release date: 1999-08-17; DVD
Best price: $20.96
Price in other shops:
Orson Welles' OthelloDVD
Best price: $10.00
Macbeth (Fully Restored Version)DVD
Best price: $10.48
![Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import] Image](/images/Falstaff-Chimes-At-Midnight-Import-B0007X6KM2-X.jpg)
Falstaff Chimes At Midnight [Import]DVD
Best price: $46.95
OthelloWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $12.50
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
St. Paul: Jubilee Year of the Apostle Paul Edition: A Bible Study for Catholicsby Mitch Pacwa
Our Sunday Visitor; Published: 2008-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.67
Price in other shops:
Jesus of Nazarethby Pope Benedict XVI
Ignatius Press; Published: 2008-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.72
Price in other shops:
The Unmasking of Oscar Wildeby Joseph Pearce
Ignatius Press; Published: 2005-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.03
Price in other shops:
King Lear (Ignatius Critical Editions)by William Shakespeare
ISI Distributed Titles; Published: 2008-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.47
Price in other shops:
BellaBELLA (DVD MOVIE); Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
The Apostlesby Pope Benedict XVI
Our Sunday Visitor; Published: 2007-07-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.67
Price in other shops:
Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Lifeby Charles J. Chaput
Doubleday Religion; Published: 2008-08-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.44
Price in other shops:
C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Churchby Joseph Pearce
Ignatius Press; Published: 2003-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeareby Clare Asquith
PublicAffairs; Published: 2006-06-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.86
Price in other shops:
Literary Giants, Literary Catholicsby Joseph Pearce
Ignatius Press; Published: 2005-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.68
Price in other shops: