Shakespeare's Library

This book plunges you into a four-century-long literary treasure hunt for the world's most famous missing library—the personal collection of William Shakespeare. It's a deep dive into the obsessive quest to uncover what books the Bard himself owned and read, a mystery that has consumed scholars and fortune hunters in mansions, palaces, and even riverbeds. Kells masterfully transforms this archival search into a gripping intellectual detective story, exploring why the contents of this library are considered the holy grail of literary studies.

What makes this investigation so compelling is its focus on the searchers themselves, a cast of eccentric and determined characters whose own stories become part of the legend. The book is less a dry academic text and more of a thrilling narrative for anyone fascinated by literary history, unsolved mysteries, or the enduring power of a good story. You'll come away with a new appreciation for the physical objects—the books—that shaped our most celebrated writer and the tantalizing void their absence has left in our understanding of his genius.