Mini: Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's Wife

This year, 2023, is the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. Have you ever stopped to ask how much you actually know about Anne?

In today's episode, we will travel back through time to explore how Anne has been depicted in Shakespeare biographies and works of imaginative fiction since her death. We explore how her inclusion (or exclusion) from Shakespeare's narrative has changed and investigate what these depictions can tell us about society's perceptions of Shakespeare.

Finally, we will also dive into the historical record and share the facts of Anne Hathaway's life. And yes, we will talk about that second best bed line in William Shakespeare's will. 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone

Works referenced:

AKA Group Limited, LLC, and Juliet Broadway LLC. “& Juliet: Official Broadway Website.” & Juliet | Official Broadway Website – Official Tickets for the New Broadway Musical & Juliet., Juliet Broadway LLC, 2022, andjulietbroadway.com/.

Gunderson, Lauren. The Book of Will. Dramatists Play Service Inc., 2018.

O’Farrell, Maggie. Hamnet. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

Scheil, Katherine West. Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway. Cambridge University Press, 2018.