What's in a Name? - by Susan Dwyer Amussen (Hardcover)

About the Book

In What's in a name?, historian Susan Amussen traces William Shakespeare's life through early modern England to show how a glover's son could have become the world's greatest author.

Book Synopsis

A compelling tour of Shakespeare's England that makes a powerful contribution to the 'authorship question'.

How do we know Shakespeare was Shakespeare? Could a glover's son who left school at fifteen really be the author behind such masterpieces as Hamlet, King Lear and The Tempest?

Yes! says historian Susan Amussen. She transports readers back to early modern England, to travel the path that carried William Shakespeare from humble origins in Stratford to literary greatness on the London stage. This was a society undergoing rapid change. Grammar schools made education in Latin and Greek available to commoners, while touring players brought the latest dramatic productions to the masses. And in London, a metropolis filled with European visitors, ordinary people had the opportunity to see courtly life up close.

No serious historian doubts that Shakespeare was the author of the plays that bear his name. Susan Amussen shares what they know: that Shakespeare's England was a complex and cosmopolitan place, with everything a talented young playwright needed to develop his craft and furnish his imagination.

From the Back Cover

How do we know Shakespeare was Shakespeare? Could a glover's son who left school at fifteen really be the author behind such masterpieces as Hamlet, King Lear and The Tempest?

Yes! says historian Susan Amussen. She transports readers back to early modern England, to travel the path that carried William Shakespeare from humble origins in Stratford to literary greatness on the London stage. This was a society undergoing rapid change. Grammar schools made education in Latin and Greek available to commoners, while touring players brought the latest dramatic productions to the masses. And in London, a metropolis filled with European visitors, ordinary people had the opportunity to see courtly life up close.

No serious historian doubts that Shakespeare was the author of the plays that bear his name. Susan Amussen shares what they know: that Shakespeare's England was a complex and cosmopolitan place, with everything a talented young playwright needed to develop his craft and furnish his imagination.

Review Quotes

'Amussen offers a fresh and gripping way to navigate the Shakespeare authorship controversy. The people and places that shaped the Renaissance playwright's craft and career path are brought vividly to life in this stunning work of historical detection. As compelling as it is well-informed, this is a must-read for all Shakespeare and theatre lovers!'
Chris Laoutaris, author of Shakespeare's Book: The Intertwined Lives Behind the First Folio

'If you've ever wanted a "making of" guide to our expanding library of Shakespeare biographies, Susan Dwyer Amussen's What's in a name? is for you. With precision, clarity and infectious enthusiasm she lays out Shakespeare's world, in all its alien richness and half-familiar oddity, and leads us inescapably to the conclusion that the Stratford-born playwright and actor was the man so celebrated today. It's an act of scholarly service and artistic celebration, and a much-needed addition to the field.'
Will Tosh, author of Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare

'What's in a name? Is a wonderfully readable early modern historian's corrective to the misinformation that persists around Shakespeare's authorship. This highly engaging book demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that Shakespeare, and none other, was Shakespeare, and that his achievement, far from being improbable, was eminently possible in early modern England.'
Dympna Callaghan, University Professor and William L. Safire Professor of Modern Letters, Syracuse University

'With luck, Susan Amussen has put the final nail in the coffin of the so-called "authorship controversy". This accessible and engaging book shows how much we do know about Shakespeare (and how unusual it is that we know so much), but it also offers a compelling demonstration of how responsible historians think and work. In our wilfully neglectful age, this is something we very much need to be reminded of.'
David Scott Kastan, George M. Bodman Professor Emeritus of English, Yale University

'This is a book for readers who want evidence, not speculation. Sifting everyday documents - marriage licences, tax rolls, lawsuits, theatre records - Amussen demonstrates that Shakespeare's authorship is not just plausible, it was inevitable. Accessible, engaging and meticulously researched, never has a wet blanket provided so much comfort.'
Paul Menzer, author of William Shakespeare: A Brief Life

'Authoritative, illuminating and readable - the account of an eminent historian who knows Shakespeare's world inside out.'
Laura Gowing, Professor of Women's and Early Modern History, King's College London

'Wonderfully readable and packed with fascinating insights. This inspiring study sees off the authorship question with a refreshing mix of common sense and rigorous scholarship. Utterly convincing.'
Christopher Luscombe, theatre director

About the Author

Susan D. Amussen is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Merced. She is the author of several books, most recently Gender, Culture and Politics in England, 1560-1603: Turning the World Upside Down, co-written with David Underdown (2017). She serves as co-editor of volume III of The New Cambridge History of Britain (2025). While her primary work has been as a social historian focused on gender, race and class, her research has been used extensively by literary scholars, with whom she has been in conversation for over thirty years.