This is why I love history, and Bill Bryson. He takes what we thought we knew about Shakespeare and reveals it for what it truly is: fiction. While there is little concrete evidence of the events of Shakespeare's life, Bryson separates the wheat from the chaff in telling us exactly what is known to history, and what has been filled in and embellished over the years. He also puts Shakespeare's life into context, explaining the culture surrounding theatre and life in Tudor England. 
 History is not just dusty facts, but a mystery to be solved and a story to be told. Bryson has done an excellent job of bringing history to life in this volume, peppered with his dry humour. I wish he would write more in this vein!