Shakespeare the Boy / With Sketches of the Home and School Life, Games and Sports, Manners, Customs and Folk-lore of the Time

This volume reconstructs the author's subject's childhood and surroundings through sketches of his county, town, and neighborhood; descriptions of domestic life, dwellings, food, and household customs; an account of grammar-school curricula, discipline, and schoolroom routine; and lively chapters on boys' games, sports, festivals, fairs, and folklore. Drawing on contemporary sources and numerous illustrations, it blends topographical detail, social habits, and popular beliefs to suggest how rural family life, schooling, and local pastimes may have shaped early experiences and illuminated many allusions in later dramatic and poetic works.