{"product_id":"shakespeare-on-sex-marc-berley-9781510786462","title":"Shakespeare on Sex: How Will's Love Life Shaped the Plays and Liberated the World","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Of special interest.\"--Sir Ian McKellen\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Bawdy Bard: Shakespeare, sex, and the liberation of love\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eShakespeare on Sex\u003c\/i\u003e, readers will discover William Shakespeare as they've never seen him before: a daring playwright determined to challenge Elizabethan sexual mores and champion the freedom of love. Drawing on the scandal of Shakespeare's own youthful shotgun marriage after he impregnated twenty-six-year-old Anne Hathaway when he was still a teenage minor in a time and place that prohibited premarital sex, as well as the bawdy brilliance of his plays, this groundbreaking book reveals how sex was at the heart of his life, his art, and his legacy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFar from prudish, Shakespeare filled his works with sly jokes, lusty wordplay, and frank portrayals of desire--audiences today miss his peerless and purposeful smut, which flies by in iambic pentameter and Elizabethan slang. He defied the restrictive laws of his age, giving voice to women, young lovers, and rebels yearning for liberation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShakespeare saw sex as both a miraculous joy and a source of human and societal troubles, and he offered revolutionary counsel in play after play, advice that can still help us all. This bold book tells a groundbreaking story about Shakespeare's mission to bring sexual liberation to Elizabethan England. It also shows how his constant focus on sex formed the narrative arc of his career, linking his plays to documented facts about his life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAccessible, entertaining, and deeply researched, \u003ci\u003eShakespeare on Sex\u003c\/i\u003e unlocks the erotic subtext of the Bard's greatest plays, from \u003ci\u003eRomeo and Juliet\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eHamlet\u003c\/i\u003e. It is essential reading for theater lovers, Shakespeare students, and anyone who wants to understand how sex shaped the greatest writer in the English language. It is perfect for beginners and required reading for Bard enthusiasts. This book will transform the Shakespeare landscape.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Marc Berley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1510786465\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781510786462\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Skyhorse Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/19\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.06lbs","brand":"Marc Berley","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48089451135231,"sku":"9781510786462","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2a934847-f0dc-4e88-a8ed-2cbe3d7db91f.jpg?v=1769110340","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/shakespeare-on-sex-marc-berley-9781510786462","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}