Shakespeare Signed Bookplate Edition

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER

This Christmas let Dame Judi Dench take you behind the scenes as she shares her life with, and love of Shakespeare.

'A wonderful mixture of appreciation and anecdote' Financial Times, Books of the Year

'A MAGICAL LOVE LETTER TO SHAKESPEARE' Sir Kenneth Branagh

‘Companionable and compelling – it genuinely feels like you’re sitting at her kitchen table with her. If you love Judi Dench or Shakespeare (and most of us do), look no further’ Guardian

‘It swirls and dances with brilliance and mischief’ Daily Mail
‘Gloriously entertaining’ Observer


Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig...

Cavorting naked through the countryside painted green...

Acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head...

These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare.

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra.

Here she reveals her behind the scenes secrets; inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour and striking honesty.

Witty, provocative and inspiring, this is ultimately Judi's love letter to Shakespeare, or rather, The Man Who Pays The Rent.


‘An utterly delightful book… Shakespeare from a great actor’s perspective – that repeatedly strikes to the heart of the matter with a sharp instinctive intelligence that puts fancy-pants literary critics to shame’Telegraph

‘A wonderful ode to the bard’ I

‘The book is pure enchantment. It swirls and dances with brilliance and mischief, so forget traditional Shakespearean criticism and analysis. Sack the Eng. Lit. professors. As never before, this book brings the subject to wild, authentic life.’Daily Mail

‘Riveting, revealing and witty’ Gazette and Herald