Shakespeare and the Countess: The Battle That Gave Birth to the Globe - Softcover

In this in-depth biography Laoutaris paints an engaging portrait of this powerful noblewoman. Those interested in religious history, especially the religious wars in England; the history and intrigues of Elizabethan England; women's history; and Shakespearean history will find this book an immensely riveting read.

The season's big mainstream Shakespeare book. Elizabeth Russell is a terrific subject for a biography, and Laoutaris is a hugely energetic narrator who brings every detail of his story to life. So entertaining. A big, rambunctious biography carried off with storytelling aplomb and deep, sometimes groundbreaking research.

This is a detailed biography of a vigorous (if not likeable) woman who stood close to power throughout the reign of Elizabeth I. [Elizabeth] Russell was a remarkable person - clever, domineering and ruthless... Laoutaris has done a thorough research job.

Laoutaris delves into all this with immense gusto, introducing his readers to a dizzying cast of characters and approaching his subject from myriad different angles. Thanks to [his] impressive research, this largely forgotten figure emerges as a woman of great erudition, determination and courage, scarcely less remarkable than her namesake and contemporary Elizabeth I.

A work of historical and literary detection which takes us straight to the heart of religious politics in Elizabethan England.

Surprising. Interesting. Elizabeth deserves the years of research and hundreds of pages that Laoutaris has given her; she can now join the gallery of neglected women resurrected by feminist scholarship.

Fabulous! Chris Laoutaris reveals an untold story about William Shakespeare. It's a gripping tale that enables us to see Shakespeare in a new light. I could not recommend it highly enough.--#1 New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir

An energetic and enterprising book. Laoutaris has done some very valuable archival work. It is certainly a story worth telling, and Laoutaris tells it well.

It could be a tale for the stage itself, involving an ambitious parvenu, a self-styled countess, more than a hint of treachery and one of the more spectacular examples of historical Nimbysim.

In his compelling book Chris Laoutaris sheds new light on this turbulent episode in the Bard's career. It is a fascinating story and Laoutaris tells it with a winning combination of scholarly rigour and elegant prose. Contributing something fresh in the crowded arena of Shakespeare studies is not easy, but Laoutaris has done precisely that. A splendid book.

Dr. Chris Laoutaris is a Lecturer and Birmingham Fellow at The Shakespeare Institute in Shakespeare's birthplace of Stratford-Upon-Avon. As well as being recently commissioned as a contributor to Cambridge University's Cambridge Guide to Shakespeare's First Folio, Laoutaris has written for the Financial Times and Sunday Express. He is currently working on a project for the Shakespeare Institute called Team Shakespeare: The Men who Created the Shakespeare Legacy.