William Shakespeare's life was as colorful, varied, and dramatic as his works. He was the Warwickshire country boy who "disappeared" for 7 years before ending up in London as an apprentice act∨ whose peers could scarcely keep up with the plays he turned out for them; who rapidly became a favourite at the court of Elizabeth I; and who returned to Stratford a prosperous "gentleman," proud to realize his father's dream of a family coat of arms before his death at 52. This is an illustrated biography of the most renowned of all dramatists and poets.