Dimensions
162 x 240 x 37mm
In November 1596 a woman signed a document which would nearly destroy the career of William Shakespeare . . .
Who was the woman who played such an instrumental, yet little known, role in Shakespeare's life? One of history's forgotten female trail-blazers, Elizabeth Russell was unique among the society ladies of her age: she took the unprecedented step of representing herself in court, championed the underdogs of her highly stratified society, helped secure lasting changes to English common law, and displayed a willingness to use physical violence to get her own way.
During her long career she sparked numerous riots and indulged in acts of bribery, breaking-and-entering, and kidnapping. She outlived four English monarchs only to have her memory blighted by persistent rumours that she murdered her son and conspired in a cover-up to conceal the evidence. Never far from controversy when she was alive, Elizabeth Russell has been edited out of public memory, yet the chain of events she set in motion would be the making of Shakespeare as we all know him today.
Providing new pieces to the puzzle, Chris Laoutaris's thrilling biography reveals for the first time the life of this extraordinary woman, and why she decided to wage her battle against Shakespeare.
