S3:E1 | Making Shakespeare Fun Again

Le Salon Literary Discussions

I know that this season’s focus is going to have some people tune out immediately—but let me make the case as to why you might want to stick around.

Firstly, most of us know Shakespeare from our high school days. Let me assure you, this is NOT your high school Shakespeare! Secondly, looking at William Shakespeare is intimidating. I mean the guy has been popular for more than 400 years. Where do you even start? In this first episode I give you juicy gossip that could have used a 23andMe DNA test, show that Shakespeare could have been a business coach, and how we very nearly missed out on pop culture witches.

Sound different? My hope is that you’ll forget the mandatory readings urged on you in the classroom and start fresh with me in this series.

[11:49] “And with a royal court looking to him for entertainment… that’s where he found his inspiration as well!”

[13:29] “Oh yeah and there is definitely a class issue going on here. There is a struggle to believe that someone who wasn’t Oxford educated could capture the global imagination for generations.”

[18:12] “Because of this First Folio we continue to divide Shakespeare’s plays into comedies, histories, and tragedies.”

More resources for you:

• See what books are on the virtual literary salon schedule.
• Follow me on Instagram @lesalonreads.
• See the list of Shakespeare plays broken down by type.
• Use code podcastlove at checkout for 20% off your ticket to August’s online book discussion of Maggie O’Farrell’s latest novel, The Marriage Portrait