DEATH BY SHAKESPEARE

Was death by snakebite as serene as Shakespeare makes out? Could lack of sleep have killed Lady Macbeth? Can you really murder someone by pouring poison in their ear? This book investigates the actual events which may have inspired Shakespeare, scientific discoveries of the day such as blood circulation and treatments for syphilis, and how Elizabethan audiences responded to the deaths they saw on stage. A rollercoaster of carnage, poison, swordplay and bloodshed, with an occasional death by bear-mauling for good measure.