Shakespeare's Best Work

by George D. Durrant

After being saved from a burning wreck by a strange old man and serving time in a correctional facility for reckless driving, James, an unhappy teenager, is surprised that his father's reaction to the incident is to tell him the story of his English great-great-great grandfather and the family's connection with William Shakespeare.

130 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is a little clunky, but the story is decent. I am, however, a Shakespeare purist, so when the premise of the story is that Shakespeare had a secret son by a mistress, I just find it hard to swallow.

It needs a better title.

[Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book when I read in the Dedication that Durrant's great grandfather is James Boyer Shelley. Could we be related? Probably not according to information in Family Tree showing James Boyer Shelley's father's last name as Bowyer and his mother's maiden names as Shelley. These facts relate to the intimacies of the book; however, the book offers lessons far beyond the story and is a solid illustration of true faith. Why do bad things happen to good people? How might answers to prayers be created in their delay? How do earthly rewards really compare with eternal rewards? Etc., etc. I was taught that Shakespeare's plays always include a moral. Has Shakespeare's greatest work ever been written? About whom? Could he still be helping to write it? Brother Durrant's Acknowledgments indicate that he has studied similar questions as "this book has evolved ... [over] more than two decades." The first time I read the book (in May) I was so moved emotionally (What a tragedy!) that I missed the Shakespeare allusions, but I couldn't help but notice them in my second reading. Perhaps the book's message is that Shakespeare's best work is an on-going process rather than words on paper.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Durrant is a good story teller and this is mostly about ancestry history. Its great to read once.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. It was enjoyable following James through the book. Can my faith even come close to his?