Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year

From Allie Esiri, editor of the bestselling A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year, comes this beautiful audio anthology of William Shakespeare's works. Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is a collection of 365 plays, sonnets and poems, and Esiri’s entertaining and insightful thoughts on each entry will fill your year with wonder, laughter, wisdom and wit. Each track of this unique collection contains an extract, which might be a famous poem, quote or scene, matched to the date, performed by leading actors such as Sir Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, and Damian Lewis. Allie Esiri's introductions give her readers a new window into the work, time and life of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year is perfect for listening together or on your own and brings you Shakespeare’s best-known and best-loved classics alongside lesser known extracts read by a range of award-winning Shakespearean actors. The complete cast of performers are: Sir Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis, Hattie Morahan, Paapa Essiedu, Jade Anouka, Ben Allen and Jot Davies.

About the Author :
Allie Esiri, who read Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University, is an accomplished curator and host of live poetry events at The National Theatre, The Bridge Theatre, and at Hay, Oxford, Bath and Cheltenham literary festivals. Her anthology A Poem for Every Day of the Year was in the best books of the year list in The Times and the Observer and the audiobook is read by Helena Bonham Carter and Simon Russell Beale. Her previous anthology, A Poem for Every Night of the Year was a best book of the year in The Times and the New Statesman and won the IBW 2017 book award. Her collection, Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year, is perfect for sharing and treasuring.

Review :
Perfect for reading, sharing and treasuring. Experience tells me that the best book presents are sentimental or serendipitous. Having a poem to read every day sweetened the passing of time, and with its hoard of immortal wisdom, the collection was a handrail to hold onto whenever I felt wobbly. A lucky dip for all ages and a handsome Christmas diversion. This month I’ll be reading Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year. Abandon Tweet of the Day for this excellently narrated daily dose celebrating the Bard. Beginning with the prologue to Romeo and Juliet (“Two noble households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona . . .”) and ending with Prospero declaring, “Now my charms are all overthrown,” it will inspire you to revisit Shakespeare’s writing Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year (Macmillan) is a more questionable idea (do we want Shakespeare in soundbites?) but it is persuasively pulled off in this daily dose of soliloquies, sonnets and snippets from plays. The book is nicely edited by Allie Esiri (like its predecessors A Poem for Every Night of the Year and A Poem for Every Day of the Year) and what distinguishes it are its fascinating, scholarly prefaces (Professor Michael Dobson should take a bow). A lucky dip for all ages and a handsome Christmas diversion. Like McGough and Ayres, William Shakespeare understood the wisdom of clowns as well as the power of tears. This would make a perfect gift for anybody who has ever liked a single speech by Shakespeare. Esiri’s choices set 365 extracts in context and she provides a synopsis of every play. Wonderful.