Angela Youngman - In the Footsteps of William Shakespeare

Angela Youngman is a full-time freelance writer, journalist, photographer and researcher. She writes regularly for a wide range of magazines, newsletters and websites. Specialist subjects include history, travel, walking, heritage, education, folklore and gardening.

In recent years she has written several books on walking, history and gardening. She particularly likes new ideas and combining several topics together. HerWalking with Kids, Travelling with Kids and a regional series on Walking with Legends combine history, folklore and walking with related activities for children. Other walk books include Kiddiwalks Norfolk.

Angela has developed a large garden from scratch that includes large areas to grow vegetables and fruit. The garden and fields are organic and a haven for wildlife. Her gardening books include Gardening A Beginners Guide and Green Roofs. She regularly gives talks to local gardening clubs.

She lives with her family and cats in rural Norfolk. Angela has a history degree from the University of Wales. She believes that learning should be fun, combining a mixture of practical elements, book learning and experiencing as many places and activities as possible.

The idea for the In the Footsteps of... series is partly due to the activities undertaken by Angela and her family. It also reflects a belief that history, literature, travel and films link together and make visiting places much more interesting.

In the Footsteps of.... is a series of e-books on favourite authors and people from history or fiction. Each one includes information on the character and books; places associated with them; films, television, art and plays; plus locations of major films and television series. The information can help you visit places that influenced the development of the character and see where some of your favourite films and television series were made. Or you can just picture the places in your mind.

Each book combines history, literature, art and tourism with selected images and original art all in an easy-to-read format. Each book appeals to general readers looking for information about the subject or for ideas of where to go, as well as to students of literature, history, arts, drama and tourism.

The series is written and researched by Angela Youngman, a professional writer of travel and history books. The cover illustrations and original drawings are by her artist daughter Karis.

The current titles are In the Footsteps of.

• Agatha Christie

• Beatrix Potter

• The Bront Sisters

• Charles Dickens

• Ian Fleming

• Robin Hood

• Sherlock Holmes

• William Shakespeare

Karis is Angelas daughter. Although still a student artist, she has already provided original illustrations and cover art for several books.

Her artistic inspiration comes from a mix of history, literature, film, fantasy, manga and famous illustrators including Arthur Rackham, John Howe, Charles Vess and Walt Disney.

Kariss ambition is to make a career from art and writing. She enjoys traveling the country to see places that she can sketch or gain inspiration from.

A Midsummer Nights Dream

No other writer possesses such long-standing, global appeal as Shakespeare. It is an appeal that has already lasted centuries, and shows no sign of abating. His impact on the English language has been equally impressive. He has contributed more words and phrases to the English language than any other writer. Phrases such as To be or not be, double, double, toil and trouble, once more into the breach, dear friends, Is this a dagger I see before me, A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse and knock, knock! Whos there? are instantly recognisable and widely used. Likewise comments like eyesore, puppy dog, laughing stock, salad days all come from Shakespeare. There are said to be over 2,000 words he invented or recorded for the first time. His birthplace has become a mecca for tourists from all nationalities.

Research by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the British Council show that 50% of the worlds school children study Shakespeare. This includes countries as diverse as Oman, Hungary, Ukraine, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, China and Saudi Arabia. Many countries have Shakespeare as a named or compulsory author on their educational curriculum. This may require studying an entire play or sections. 21 million Chinese students study the trial scene from The Merchant of Venice each year, while most Vietnamese students study Romeo and Juliet.

Reasons for the popularity of Shakespeare are not hard to find. A shrewd entertainer and playwright, his skilful use of language allowed him to arouse any emotion he wished from the audience. Complex, well-written plots grasp the attention of an audience. The characters are believable and deal with familiar situations and universal human values.

Shakespeare knew what would work with an audience. He was a versatile writer able to cope with tragedy, comedy and romance. Many plays were swashbuckling and imaginative. Whatever the play, Shakespeare knew how to make the subject matter appeal to everyone. He was an astute observer of people in positions and power, and could analyse their behaviour, bringing it to life in his plays.

Shakespeares work was quickly popular. His plays were performed at public theatres including the Globe. From 1594, the Lord Chamberlains Men were the premier acting group and regularly performed at Court.

Queen Elizabeth I was fond of the theatre and would have seen most of Shakespeares early plays. There are accounts of her seeing Loves Labours Lost and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Legend has it that the Queen actually commissioned Shakespeare to write The Merry Wives of Windsor but there is no evidence to prove this.

When James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne, he also supported the theatre. He took over the patronage of the Lord Chamberlains Men renaming them The Kings Men.

The exact dating of Shakespeares plays is not always possible, but the generally accepted chronology is:

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona 1590-1

• The Taming of the Shrew 1590-1

• Henry VI Part One 1591

• Henry VI Part Two 1591

• Titus Andronicus 1592-3

• Richard III 1592-3

• Venus and Adonis 1592-3

• The Rape of Lucrece 1593-4

• The Comedy of Errors 1594

• Loves Labours Lost 1594-5

• Richard II 1595

• Romeo and Juliet 1595

• A Midsummer Nights Dream 1595

• King John 1596

• The Merchant of Venice 1596-7

• Henry IV Part One 1596-7

• The Merry Wives of Windsor 1597-8

• Henry IV Part Two 1596-8

• Much Ado About Nothing 1598

• Henry V 1598-9