Will's Will

The original will - one of the National Archives' most prized treasures - is reproduced in full, with a transcript for modern readers. Individual phrases are probed with a light, entertaining touch to reveal what we can piece together about Shakespeare the writer and the man - his friends and family, his lovers, the places where he lived, his beliefs, his growing wealth and, of course, the theatres where he made his name. The result is a fascinating, freewheeling journey into a life (and death) with tantalizingly few facts and room for intriguing conjecture.