Walking with William Shakespeare

Anne-Marie Edwards £9.95

One of those rare walking guides that make great reading even from the comfort of your armchair, this is Shakespeare as you were never taught at school. Anne-Marie Edwards brings the bard to life by linking the landscape with extracts from his plays, poetry and scenes from his past. The walks are of manageable length and explore the quintessentially English landscape of Shakespeare's native Warwickshire where he spent his early life, as well as the streets of London where he found fame and fortune.

What this book lacks in glossy photography or slick presentation, it makes up in detail and easy-to-follow descriptions. Unfortunately, Edwards loses brownie points for discouraging readers from using new Right to Roam land (it "could lead to disappointment and confusion for walkers", she concludes, advising readers to stick to established rights of way even on open access land). We say William would have roamed free.

Jones Books, www.walksbooks.com
ISBN: 978097635390 4

Reviewed on 25/05/2007 by Frances Warneford