ShakespeareÆs life and work are sometimes romanticized as a product of the golden age of Elizabeth I. But the bard produced some of his finest plays after the Virgin QueenÆs death. In this illuminating BBC series, American scholar James Shapiro examines the plays Shakespeare wrote during the turbulent reign of ElizabethÆs successor, King James I. One of the new kingÆs first official acts was to name Shakespeare a kingÆs man. Overnight, the dramatist attained security, prestige, and an up-close view of the Jacobean court. Shapiro convincingly argues that the dark, complex plays of ShakespeareÆs last decadeùKing Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, among othersmirrored both royal life and the eraÆs profound social changes. Visiting sites that Shakespeare would have known, scouring archives, and consulting leading historians, literary experts, and directors, Shapiro reveals a Shakespeare weÆve never seen. As accomplished a storyteller as he is a scholar (Radio Times, U.K.), James Shapiro has been a professor of English at Columbia University since 1985. He is the author of the