'Fluent and witty . . . confident . . . highly readable'
Kathryn Hughes, GUARDIAN
'Brilliant - so vivid and so sharp, fantastically clever and consistently fascinating'
KATHERINE RUNDELL, author of Super-Infinite
Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler and more complex than you might think . . .
Shakespeare's work was profoundly influenced by the queer culture of his time - much of it totally integrated into mainstream society. From a relentless schooling in Latin and Greek homoeroticism, to a less formal education on the streets and in smoky taverns, from the gender-bending of the early comedies to the astonishingly queer literary scene that nurtured Shakespeare's sonnets, this is a story of artistic development and of personal crisis.
Straight Acting is a surprising portrait of Shakespeare's queer lives - his own and those in his plays and poems. It is a journey back in time and through Shakespeare's England, revealing a culture that both endorsed and supressed same-sex desire. It is a call to stop making Shakespeare act straight and to recognise how queerness powerfully shaped the life and career of the world's most famous playwright.
'Magisterial and saucy . . . This fresh account kickstarts the queer canon of English literature: Shakespeare won't go back in the closet again'
EMMA SMITH, author of This Is Shakespeare
'Engrossing, enlightening and hugely entertaining'
SARAH WATERS, author of Fingersmith



![Niland, Conor SPORT Conor Niland: The Racket [2024] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/niland-conor-conor-niland-the-racket-2024-paperback-58820653515091_{width}x.jpg?v=1760353359)
![Daly, Hannah IRISH BIOGRAPHY Hannah Daly: Knowing No Boundaries [2022] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/daly-hannah-hannah-daly-knowing-no-boundaries-2022-paperback-1171049945_{width}x.jpg?v=1748883685)
![O'sullivan, Katriona IRISH BIOGRAPHY Katriona O'Sullivan: Poor: Grit Courage And The Life-c [2023] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/o-sullivan-katriona-katriona-o-sullivan-poor-grit-courage-and-the-life-c-2023-paperback-57396766343507_{width}x.jpg?v=1727097442)
![Westover, Tara BIOGRAPHY Tara Westover: Educated: The international bestselling memoir [2018] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/westover-tara-tara-westover-educated-the-international-bestselling-memoir-2018-paperback-57939868025171_{width}x.jpg?v=1726362680)
![Oconnor, Sinead MUSIC Sinead Oconnor: REMEMBERINGS [2022] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/oconnor-sinead-sinead-oconnor-rememberings-2022-paperback-58868915306835_{width}x.jpg?v=1726382119)