Excellent book about the mechanics of putting on a play by Shakespeare. Recounts a history of theater from the early Middle Ages to Shakespeare's time. Fascinating and occasionally rather funny. The book is divided into two inconspicuously marked chapters but has no table of contents. The illustrations on every page and the way the subject matter is covered make the book suitable for children, the language is sophisticated enough for adults. I really enjoyed the illustrations of the inanimate things; the maps, the theatre, the stage, the pageant wagons, but less so the illustrations of the people. ( )

I was so enchanted by this book when my Grade 8 teacher brought it into the classroom as part of a unit on Romeo and Juliet that I remembered it for years and was finally able to buy a copy at a library sale to share with my own children. ( )