9 essential Shakespeare reads

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23.04.2026

Shakespeare’s birthday coincides with World Book Day, so we asked a panel of experts to pick their favourite Shakespeare book. Their choices created this surprising and eclectic reading list.

1. Brutus and Other Heroines by Dame Harriet Walter

In Brutus and Other Heroines, actor Harriet Walter takes readers behind the theatre curtain for an intimate account of the many Shakespeare roles she has performed. 

“The book gets into the hearts and minds of each character,” says Matilda Ridgway. “And Walter really advocates for them. For example, when Walter looks at Lady Macbeth, she doesn’t see a stone-cold villain – she sees her humanity. Lady Mac has endured terrible loss and shares a deep love with her husband.

“Walter offers a proudly feminist perspective, she busts a few myths, and she explains the choices she made playing each role. It’s a fascinating read.”

Matilda Ridgway will play Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, which Bell Shakespeare will tour nationally from August to December 2026. 

2. Soul of the Age by Sir Jonathan Bate

There’s no shortage of William Shakespeare biographies out there – but Soul of the Age is a bit special, according to Dr Will Sharpe.

“Jonathan Bate considers the world and influences around Shakespeare and how they shaped him and his work. Instead of romanticising myths about Shakespeare, Bate explains the things Shakespeare would have actually read, heard and seen. And that gives us a much deeper understanding of Shakespeare as a person and an artist.”

Dr Will Sharpe is the author of Shakespeare & Collaborative Writing (Oxford University Press) and a Teaching Fellow in Shakespeare at the University of Birmingham in the UK.

3. Shakespeare, After All by Marjorie Garber

Harvard professor Marjorie Garber takes readers on a lively, engaging tour through all 38 of Shakespeare’s surviving plays in Shakespeare, After All.

“It’s the kind of book you have on your bookshelf and you dip into it before you go to see a Shakespeare play,” says Peter Evans. “Garber is a brilliant writer and she’s incredibly thorough, but what shines through most is her genuine love for the plays. There’s a generosity in her writing which shifts the spotlight away from her and onto the playwright and the plays.”

Peter Evans is Bell Shakespeare’s Artistic Director. In 2026, he is directing Julius Caesar, which tours to Melbourne from 23 April to 10 May after a popular Sydney and Canberra season. 

4. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

First published in 2014, Station Eleven is a dystopian tale that imagined the world after a flu-like virus wiped out millions of people and civilisation as we know it had crumbled. The reading experience was eery enough back then, but now that we’ve all lived through the COVID-19 pandemic the novel really hits close to home.

“I've always been a fan of post-apocalyptic storytelling” says Joanna Erskine, “and while Shakespeare isn’t the main point of the novel, it’s at its heart.
“Within an epic tale we follow a group of travelling actors who perform Shakespeare for fellow survivors. Originally they performed other remembered plays, but their audiences wanted ‘what was best about the world’, and so they only perform Shakespeare. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”

Joanna Erskine is Bell Shakespeare’s Head of Education, overseeing the company’s national education program.

5. Fat Ham by James Ijames

Ask a playwright to name a book that they love and you can bet they’ll name a dramatic script (which comes in book format!). True to form, Yve Blake did exactly that – and she picked an absolute gem. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, no less.

“Fat Ham is an incredible, queer retelling of Hamlet centred around a fictional Black family in modern-day America,” Yve says. “Reading that script really brought it home to me that you can do a fresh take on Shakespeare and say a lot about the world we live in today. This book really encouraged and inspired me to push myself further when I was developing Mackenzie, which is my own retelling of Macbeth.”

Bell Shakespeare will stage the world premiere of Mackenzie by Yve Blake in Sydney (6 June – 18 July) and Melbourne (23 July – 9 August).

6. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Sir Tom Stoppard

Author Brendan P Kelso also found it impossible to resist picking a dramatic script as his favourite Shakespeare book. “Tom Stoppard takes two very minor characters from Hamlet and turns them into the stars of this wildly funny play about confusion, bad luck, and not quite knowing what’s going on. It reminds me Shakespeare can be ridiculous, playful, and laugh-out-loud clever, even when the stakes are life and death. Just how I like my Shakespeare!”

Brendan P Kelso is the author of the thriller The Night She Said Hatchet and the creator of a series of script adaptations of Shakespeare's plays (and other classics) for children.

7. Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by Ben Crystal and David Crystal

Every time Anthony Taufa prepares to perform in a Shakespeare play, there’s one book he reaches for: “Shakespeare’s Words connects all the dots for me,” says Anthony. 

“The plays are full of literary references, historical links and tiny details – and this book reveals all of that. It explains what words and phrases mean and why they’re significant. As an actor, this really helps me to understand my character’s social, political and cultural world. Shakespeare’s Words is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the plays.”

Anthony Taufa will play the title role in Macbeth, which Bell Shakespeare will tour nationally from August to December 2026. 

8. 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro

Most history books aren’t described as “a rollicking good read” but most history books aren’t 1599 by Columbia University’s Professor James Shapiro. Audaciously, Shapiro writes an entire book about a single year in Shakespeare’s London – and somehow pulls it off with pace and panache.

“It’s painstakingly researched but also a real page turner,” says James Evans. “1599 was a turbulent year in England and a transformational one for William Shakespeare. His company built and opened the Globe theatre, while he wrote Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet. If you haven’t yet dipped your toe into Shakespeare’s history, this book is a great place to start.”

James Evans is Bell Shakespeare’s Executive Director. Bell Shakespeare is staging Julius Caesar, which tours to Melbourne from 23 April to 10 May after a popular Sydney and Canberra season. 

9. Shakespeare’s Money by Robert Bearman

William Shakespeare wasn’t just an artist with a gift for words, he was also a savvy businessman. And Shakespeare’s Money shows what his wheeling and dealing in theatre, grain, and property tells us about the man behind the poetry and plays. 

“Unlike many modern Shakespeare biographies, this one by Robert Bearman draws on new original documentation,” says Mairi Macdonald. “By looking at how Shakespeare made, managed and invested his money, we get a more complete, realistic picture of Shakespeare’s life.” 

Mairi Macdonald is the former Head of Local Collections at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and a contributor to The New Dictionary of National Biography and the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare.

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