"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings.
An in-depth look at the science behind the creative methods Shakespeare used to kill off his characters.
In Death By Shakespeare, Kathryn Harkup, best-selling author of A is for Arsenic and expert on the more gruesome side of science, turns her expertise to Shakespeare and the creative methods he used to kill off his characters. Is death by snakebite really as serene as Cleopatra made it seem? How did Juliet appear dead for 72 hours only to be revived in perfect health? Can you really kill someone by pouring poison in their ear? How long would it take before Lady Macbeth died from lack of sleep? Readers will find out exactly how all the iconic death scenes that have thrilled audiences for centuries would play out in real life.
In the Bard's day death was a part of everyday life. Plague, pestilence and public executions were a common occurrence, and the chances of seeing a dead or dying body on the way home from the theater was a fairly likely scenario. Death is one of the major themes that reoccur constantly throughout Shakespeare's canon, and he certainly didn't shy away from portraying the bloody reality of death on the stage. He didn't have to invent gruesome or novel ways to kill off his characters when everyday experience provided plenty of inspiration.
Shakespeare's era was also a time of huge scientific advance. The human body, its construction and how it was affected by disease came under scrutiny, overturning more than a thousand years of received Greek wisdom, and Shakespeare himself hinted at these new scientific discoveries and medical advances in his writing, such as circulation of the blood and treatments for syphilis.
Shakespeare found 74 different ways to kill off his characters, and audiences today still enjoy the same reactions--shock, sadness, fear--that they did over 400 years ago when these plays were first performed. But how realistic are these deaths, and did Shakespeare have the science to back them up?
Death by Shakespeare by Kathryn Harkup is expected to be released May 5th, 2020 by Bloomsbury SIGMA.
Why am I waiting on this one? I don't read a lot of nonfiction each year, but this one intrigues me. I'm thinking if you like mysteries and you like Shakespeare, then this could be a good pick. I'm curious about some of the deaths such as, could pouring poison in someone's ear really kill them. I haven't read anything else by this author yet, but it looks promising. I'm hoping it's written in an interesting and easy to read manner. Have you read this author's other book? Did you enjoy it?
What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments.so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!
