The Secret Life of William Shakespeare, By Jude Morgan

Jude Morgan has already won his literary spurs with compelling fictional biographies of the Brontes and Bryon.

His latest work is yet more ambitious - a bold recreation of the offstage life of Shakespeare. Central to Morgan's tale is the playwright's early romance with Anne Hathaway.

Several years her husband's senior, Anne accommodates Will's thespian desires, and waves him off to London to pursue his craft. In a smart move, Morgan rarely quotes from The Bard.

Instead he flatters our intelligence by introducing encounters and experiences that will later be transformed into art.