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Open a new portal into Shakespeare’s words—and his Renaissance life—with math and numbers as your key.
Shakespeare’s era was abuzz with mathematical progress, from the new concept of “zero” to Galileo’s redraft of the heavens. Now, Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare’s plays—and his world—touring astronomy, code-breaking, color theory, navigation, music, sports, and more.
- How reliable was a pocket sundial?
- Was math illusionist John Dee the real-life Prospero?
- How long was a Scottish mile, and what could you buy for a groat?
- Do Jupiter’s moons have a cameo in Cymbeline?
- How did ordinary people use numbers day to day?
- And might Shakespeare have tried that game-changing invention—the pencil?
Full of delights for devotees of both Tudor history and the Bard, Much Ado About Numbers is proof that the arts and sciences have always danced together.
“Presents the Bard’s characters as calculating in a way you probably never considered. . . . This quirky little book will multiply the fun for any general reader interested in adding to their understanding of Shakespeare.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“This entertaining history . . . succeeds in outlining the mathematical and scientific ideas that trickled into the Bard’s plays. This idiosyncratic study will help readers better understand the world that shaped Shakespeare’s writings.”—Publishers Weekly
“A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics.”—Professor Sarah Hart, author of Once Upon A Prime
“A spectacular journey . . . Highly recommended!”—Dr. Simon Smith, The Shakespeare Institute
“A playful and engaging book . . . bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies.”—Patrick Spottiswoode, founder of Shakespeare’s Globe Education
“Instead of cleaving math and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader.”—Dr. Rebecca Fisher, The English Association
“You can count on both Rob Eastaway and Shakespeare to make mathematics entertaining, never more so than in this elegant tome which will make your Pericles tingle as you like it.”—Sir Tim Rice
“This entertaining look at what really counts in the tragedies, comedies and histories. . . has plenty of history, science, language and, yes, number stuff here, such as a clever reference in “Othello” to a week as “Eight score 8 hours,” which, it turns out, is exactly how long a week is.”—Orange County Register
