Hamlet's Dresser: A Memoir

"...a tale told by a wise man, full of tears and laughter, signifying a great deal more than most other works of autobiography..." Anthony Holden, author of William Shakespeare: The Man Behind the Genius A sad, funny and inspiring account of how one man's life was saved by Shakespeare. Bob Smith was a fragile boy from a difficult household presided over by an unstable, depressive mother who depended on him, an unsupportive, unavailable father and a severely disabled, beautiful sister who lived at home, largely cared for by Bob. At the age of ten he stumbled upon a line from Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE - "in sooth I know not why I am so sad" - and found in Shakespeare the buoy that would keep him afloat for the rest of his tumultuous life. In gorgeous, tender, and lyrical prose, Smith tells the story of a life shaped by poetry. Melding tragedy and comedy, he gracefully weaves together the stories of his bittersweet childhood, his poignant experiences with old people, and dozens of illuminating passages and scenes from Shakespeare's plays. Throughout, Bob's sweet, tortured sister plays both the beautiful Ophelia and the ghost to Bob's Hamlet, haunting the book with heartrending power.