PROGRAMME DETAILS FOR THE 188TH SEASON 2011/2012

TUESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2012
DR ROBERT BEARMAN

Formerly Head of Archives and Local Studies at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Robert Bearman, MBE, BA, PhD, FRHistS, publishes widely on local history topics, and has contributed articles on Shakespeare biography to Shakespeare Quarterly and Shakespeare Survey. His most recent book, published in 2011, is an edition of the Minutes and Accounts of the Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation, 1599-1609, and it is on this that his talk is based.

Murder, Riot and 'Gaming at tables': New Light on Shakespeare's Stratford

Not only is Stratford-upon-Avon the native town of our greatest writer; its surviving archives from the Tudor and Jacobean period were recently designated as of national importance. This archive documents both the fortunes of Shakespeare's family and the kind of town in which they lived. As more and more of these records are published, we gain a better understanding of these issues. Robert has recently finished editing those for the years 1599-1609 throwing new light on life in a town which Shakespeare always regarded as his home.

CLICK TO GO BACK TO MAIN PROGRAMME LIST