Really lovely. A.D. Cousins and his team have assembled an erudite, matter-of-fact gloss over Shakespeare's life and career.

Each play is given at least 2 large pages (sometimes up to 12) covering the basic plot, the play in performance, the history and sources, and any other relevant information. Some of the major plays get considerably more than this, exploring social attitudes and the play's critical fortunes, for example. (The same treatment is given to all of the dramatist's poems.)

Cousins and his team are wonderfully inclusive, which I think is great. The gorgeous colour pictures that accompany every page range from film shots of 21st century movies to portraits and photographs of 19th century actors in costume, and everything in between. The pages are regularly dotted with quotes as well, to really inform the casual Bardolater.

What I particularly like about "The Shakespeare Encyclopedia" is that it remains quite intelligent: the authors are primarily academics, and this shows sometimes in their use of language. At the same time, they keep their feet on the ground, and so this book will make a great introduction for someone coming to Shakespeare and his works. (On the matter of sex and bawdiness, the book is a bit dainty in its language - perhaps the publishers' requirements - but doesn't hesitate to discuss the matter of bawdy jokes or sexuality where appropriate.)

Longtime Shakespeare buffs like myself will of course want to see some areas fleshed out, and it can be annoying when an oft-disputed statement (e.g. Prospero's final speech being a deliberate farewell from Shakespeare) is stated almost as fact, simply due to space limitations. But there's no deliberate attempt at subterfuge here, just a desire to truly capture Shakespeare's essence for the neophyte reader. And they've done well. (The "Further Reading" section is filled with delights, but perhaps they could've put a key text for each work in bold, since I would be most daunted by this if I was a newcomer!) ( )