A level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. Retold for Learners of English by Jennifer Bassett

William Shakespeare. Born April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon. Died April 1616. Married Anne Hathaway: two daughters, one son. Actor, poet, famous playwright. Wrote nearly forty plays.

But what was he like as a man? What did he think about when he rode into London for the first time . . . or when he was writing his plays Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet . . . or when his only son died?

We know the facts of his life, but we can only guess at his hopes, his fears, his dreams.