This work provides the background to Shakespeare's plays. The author shows how Shakespeare came to occupy his current position at the pinnacle of English literature, how little we know of his life and how recent scholarship has made immense strides in illuminating his works. Subsequent chapters consider what we know about the social and political scene in Shakespeare's day, the rival theatrical companies in an age of the plague, plagiarism and literary piracy and the actual design of Elizabethan playhouses. Dr Harrison concludes by looking at the established canon and its chronology, the development of Shakespeare's style and the techniques used by modern editors to turn Folios and Quartos into readable texts.