Book Review: I Used to Know That: Shakespeare Stuff You Forgot From School By Liz Evers

When I was young my grandmother had a set of collected works, including the Illiad, Edgar Allen Poes stories and Shakespeares Plays. I;m not sure who read the books more, her or I. I tended to alternate between Poe (my fav) and Shakespeare. So I was very happy when asked to review this latest edition of the Readers Digest Blackboard Series of Books!

Synopsis: Shakespeare. . .that famous Bard of Avon. We've all studied him, read his plays, and quoted his words. But how much do we really remember about him? With I Used to Know That: Shakespeare, you'll be taken back to the classroom for an engaging look that is sure to fill in all the details. Inside you'll find sections that include...

• His life -- the playwright, the lover, the family man- he married his 26 yr old wife, Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was already pregnant with their daughter Susana. They then had twins, Hamnet and Judith. In fact he had no know direct descendants, as Judith died childless and Suana's daughter Elizabeth did too!
• Words and Phrases Owed to Shakespeare Did you know we have Shakespeare to thank for words such as "bandit, " "fashionable, " and "moonbeam", and the phrases "in my mind's eye, " "in my heart of hearts, " and "to thine own self be true"?
• His Theater and Plays Synopses of the most famous 13 of his plays, including Merchant of Venice and Richard III.
• Character Glossary All the most memorable, infamous, and beloved characters from Shakespeare's collective works, including Beatrice, Julius Caesar, Ariel, Falstaff, Cleopatra, Othello, and Horatio
• Index of Famous Lines "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit" from Twelfth Night and "Tempt not a desperate man" from Romeo and Juliet

This is a great little book to brush up on your Shakespeare quotes, plays and lore, to astound your friends, or just to be a better conversationalist! And yes, it would probably help you win on Jeopardy! ,You really get to learn more about Shakespeare's body of works as a whole. Highly recommended for high school and college students as well too!

About the Author:  Liz Evers,  is a writer with a background in communications. Her love affair with Shakespeare began when she first studied Hamlet in secondary school in her native Dublin, and continued at university, where she steadily ploughed her way through the Bard's complete works, as part of her degree in English Literature. She also has an MA in Film and a Diploma in Journalism. She now lives in London, within dashing distance of the Globe Theatre.

 For more information on the book and the Blackboard Books, please visit www.rdtradepublishing.com

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book for review purposes on this blog, free of charge, from FSB Associates. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.