Rene Wets draws upon a lifetime of research to reveal that it is the plays and poems themselves that contain the richest seam of clues about the details of Shakespeare's personal and professional life - at home In Stratford, and, later, in the shadowy precincts of theatrical London. Scenes from King Lear and Othello, for example, were influenced by the Bard's several love affairs. Likewise, Shakespeare's grief at the death of his son Hamnet spawned his most ambitious tragedy, while his own twins provided the counterreality to Twelfth Night.Weis also offers new data to clear up old mysteries. The Fair Youth, the author argues, had to be Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton; the Dark Lady was Emilia Lanier, a strikingly luscious Venetian beauty; Christopher Marlowe was the rival poet who figured so prominently in the Sonnets. These speculations are based largely on study of overlooked sources, hidden in Shakespeare's birthplace, as well as neglected sources in Stratford and the records now held by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, of which Weis is a trustee.Shakespeare Unbound not only provides links between the life and the work but surprises readers with new information about the London stage, England's dangerous religious wars, and Shakespeare's close friendships and entangled family life. Read Less