{"product_id":"book-cqg1","title":"Shakespeare and the Resistance","description":"\u003cb\u003eShakespeare's largely misunderstood narrative poems contain within them an explosive commentary on the political storms convulsing his country\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: \u003ci\u003eVenus and Adonis\u003c\/i\u003e in 1593 and \u003ci\u003eThe Rape of Lucrece \u003c\/i\u003ea year later. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents: two politically charged allegories of Tudor tyranny that justified-and even urged-direct action against an unpopular regime. The poems were Shakespeare's bestselling works in his lifetime, evidence that they spoke clearly to England's wounded populace and disaffected nobility, and especially to their champion, the Earl of Essex.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShakespeare and the Resistance\u003c\/i\u003e unearths Shakespeare's own analysis of a political and religious crisis which would shortly erupt in armed rebellion on the streets of London. Using the latest historical research, it resurrects the story of a bold bid for freedom of conscience and an end to corruption that was erased from history by the men who suppressed it. This compelling reading situates Shakespeare at the heart of the resistance movement.","brand":"Hachette Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49349249958192,"sku":"BDcqg1","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/529178-cqg1-Square.jpg?v=1734245835","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-cqg1","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}