Her Infinite Variety: Stories of Shakespeare and the Women He Loved

by Pamela Rafael Berkman

Book Overview

With elegance, sympathy, and nuance, Her Infinite Variety celebrates the women in William Shakespeare's world. These lyrical stories move from Elizabethan London, where Shakespeare is drawn to the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 074321255X
• ISBN13: 9780743212557
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Shakespeare for the Rest of Us

To read *Her Infinite Variety* is to be dazzled by Pamela Berkman's imaginative capacity. From story to story, she displays a rare ability to intuit the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's women--the ones in his life as well as the ones in his art--and then to fill in those gaps with the delicate filigree of her fiction. Yet while these stories display a delicately rigorous structure, the language holding them together is as vibrant and sexy as the women they depict. If you have never enjoyed Shakespeare, buy this book. Berkman's tart-tongued Titania, her haunted Ophelia, and her utterly down-to-earth Bard (rescued, finally, from both scholars and souvenir-sellers) will make you reconsider.

Wonderful fiction and a great intro to Shakespeare

I LOVED this book, and I'm not even a big Shakespeare fan. To me, this book offers a way to better understand and enjoy the plays--by imagining the women's stories in a really full and rich way. Plus, the book ends up reading like a novel, because the stories are chronological--you end up getting a fascinating picture of the life of Shakespeare. Wonderfully written, evocative, lyrical--a truly fabulous read!

Ms. Berkman's Infinite Creativity

Would a Rose by any other name not smell as sweet? Why not ask the Rose? That's very much what Ms. Berkman has done as she explores the Bard from the perspective of the women in his life. (What could they have been thinking? Read all here.) While academics have spent their time exploring the finite detail of what made Willie tick, Berkman has taking a refreshing approach here, with fictional viewpoints ranging from romantic, to steamy, to whimsical. This is a great read for a midsummer's night, especially for those of us hoping to store-up a few fresh images to carry along to a Shakespeare festival. We can only hope Ms. Berkman will supply a sequel soon to stave off our winter of discontent.

Her Infinite Imagination

Slender but substantial, the size of this book belies an enormous depth and density of ideas, characters and detail. A dozen stories, each one was a treasure to be savored slowly; I rationed them to one per sitting, each one a perfect meal. Berkman draws you into the time and place - both physical and emotional - that Shakespeare must have occupied in the lives of the women around him. The line between historical research and the author's invention is so delicately painted that I was impressed by both her knowledge and her imagination, not knowing or needing to know which was which. The book is respectful of Shakespeare while making the icon a man, approachable and appealing without having to be Hollywood pretty. I've already got a half dozen women friends I want to send this book to, not to mention my uncle the acting coach - his students are going to just eat this up!

Sexy, intriguing stories about Shakespeare's women

I really loved this book. It's a fun, intelligent look at what might have been going on in the minds of Shakespeare's women. The author does a great job of telling the stories of women who are often silent in Shakespeare's plays, like Ophelia and Lady Capulet. There are also terrific stories about Shakespeare's wife, daughter and about Queen Elizabeth. I especially liked the story of his daughter, Judith and the one about Lady Macbeth. I read this sitting on my deck and it was a great start for the summer.