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Ron Destro’s Latest: Shakespeare Authorship & The Starre, the Moone, the Sunne
The Shakespeare Authorship Question for Absolute Beginners, Lazy Louts & Knotty-Pated Knaves
The Shakespeare Authorship Question for Absolute Beginners, Lazy Louts & Knotty-Pated Knaves is a clear, concise and humorous examination of the centuries-old controversial Shakespeare authorship question for both novices and the knowledgeable alike. Using primary source documents and contemporary testimony, Kennedy Center award-winning author Ron Destro attempts to prove that the man from Stratford-upon-Avon could not have been the author of history’s greatest literary works, while then exposing the true hidden author after dissecting Bacon, mulling Marlowe, and verifying Vere. This is accomplished after full consideration of the opinions and findings of such notables as Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Henry James, Anne Rice, Malcolm X, Helen Keller, Sigmund Freud, John Dover Wilson, Northrop Fry, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, Derek Jacobi, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Irons, Kristin Linklater, Robin Williams, Keanu Reeves, and several U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
“Insightful and hilarious.” – author Hank Whittemore.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It will inspire a new generation.” – actor/director Richard Clifford.
“Great fun! Knowledgeable and entertaining.” – Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship past president Bob Meyers.
“So clear and fascinating. Essential reading!” – poet/filmmaker Amanda Eliasch.
“I have been a friend of Ron Destro for some time and can confirm his great gifts as a writer and director. His research on this controversial subject is as extensive as his knowledge is broad.” – actor Michael York.
“I find myself maddened and bewildered. Preposterous, snobbish and bizarre.” – actor Stephen Fry.
“Five years of Shakespeare studies down the toilet!” – lecture attendee.
Purchase your copy here
The Starre, the Moone, the Sunne: What if everything you learned about Shakespeare was a lie?
In 1624 London, a brave printer is executed, a portly poet is kidnapped, a Stratford-upon-Avon grave is emptied, King James is put into a panic, many swashes are buckled, and things are never as they seem, all because brave Nicholas and clever Valentina are about to discover and reveal the true identity of “William Shake-speare.” This is a timely tale that touches on the powerful love of fathers, the perils of the plague, the joys of turnips, and the mysterious life and tragic death of the Bard of Avon. It is a (mostly) true story filled with suspense and humour.
“This is a beautiful story. It was a joy to read, a tale of depth and detail. One that will certainly enthrall any reader. It’s controversial and provocative, which is eminently attractive, and the journey is excitingly powerful.” – Sir Derek Jacobi, Tony & BAFTA award-winning actor.
“Roll over, Harry Potter! The Starre, the Moone, the Sunne has all the mystery and suspense of Harry Potter and even more substance, with literary sleuths in a romp up and down and all around the Elizabethan-Shakespearean matrix. Ron Destro’s narrator is endowed with consistently ingenious dialect, and Derek Jacobi has a field day in the audiobook exercising his sublime elocutions on the clever word bending. To anyone steeped in the authorship lore, the familiarity of the plethora of names of minor characters is a laugh riot.” – William Niederkorn, artist and writer on authorship issues for The Brooklyn Rail and The New York Times.
“When one of the world’s leading Shakespeare scholars and teachers pens a novel about who truly conceived and crafted the entire Shakespearean canon, we mere mortals would be well advised to pay heed. When such an astonishingly original tale turns out to be marvelously amusing, deeply passionate, and brilliantly entertaining, then it demands to be read by all. What Ron Destro has gifted the world in The Starre, The Moone, The Sunne is nothing less than the stuff that dreams are made on.” – Steve Cuden, co-creator of Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical, author of Beating Broadway and Beating Hollywood, host of StoryBeat.net.
“It’s rare to find an historical novel of the seventeenth century that is so vibrant, so Shakespearean in its storytelling, language and humor — one that feels authentic, yet utterly accessible — as The Starre, The Moone, The Sunne. It’s even rarer that the audiobook’s reader, Sir Derek Jacobi, is not so much narrating the story as offering a full blown comedic-dramatic performance, sending author Ron Destro’s delightful characters and breakneck plot exploding from the earphones. It is a match made in Heaven.” – Robin Maxwell, bestselling author of The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn and The Wild Irish.
“Elizabethan scholar and fine comic actor Ron Destro has combined his extraordinary talents to produce this brilliantly written tale of the true genesis of Shakespeare’s plays. This novel is poetic, humorous, shockingly original and controversial.” – Malcolm McKay, director, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
“The Starre, The Moone, The Sunne is a fulsome tale told by an aged insider to the Elizabethan and Jacobean theater and court, determined to disclose his point of view from his jail cell before his execution. The mystery unfolds with multiple plot lines. Whether one is a Stratfordian or not, there is plenty here to keep the reader engaged, for it is a novel filled with shrewd surprises, wry humor and historical detail.” – Michael Kinghorn, playwright & dramaturg, former Literary Manager of the Guthrie Theater.
“What a wonderful conglomeration of wit, intrigue, mystery, passion and literary magic we have in Ron Destro’s new book! It’s a great romp through one of history’s biggest puzzles, filled with thoughtful insights into the gritty, unpredictable world of Shakespeare’s England.” – Paul Nicholson, Executive Director Emeritus, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Awards:
Winner, Book of the Year, 2nd Runner-Up, Historical Fiction Company.
Winner, Gold Medal, Audiobook of the Year, Historical Fiction Company.
Winner, Best New Author, Audio Book Reviewer’s Award.
Winner, Gold Medal, Best Fiction Audiobook, Independent Publisher Book Awards.
Finalist, Hawthorne Prize, American Writing Awards.
Finalist, Best First Novel, Indie Book Awards.
Finalist, Best Historical Fiction, Indie Book Awards.
5-Stars, Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards.
Top 100, Hollywood Launch Pad List.
Purchase your copy here