Audiobooks About Shakespeare

Biographies, companions, conspiracies, and creative retellings — exploring how the Bard continues to haunt our imagination.

Lives & Legends

Biographies and historical portraits of Shakespeare…

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare cover

A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

Runtime: 6h 28m
Narrator: James Shapiro
Shakespeare - The Biography: Vol II : The Upstart Crow cover

Shakespeare - The Biography: Vol II : The Upstar…

Runtime: 2h 57m
Narrator: Simon Callow
The Life of the Author: Shakespeare cover

The Life of the Author: Shakespeare

Runtime: 9h 55m
Narrator: Susan Ericksen
William Shakespeare: History in an Hour cover

William Shakespeare: History in an Hour

Runtime: 1h 32m
Narrator: Jonathan Keeble
Shakespeare's Restless World cover

Shakespeare's Restless World

Runtime: 4h 30m
Narrator: Neil MacGregor
Shakespeare: The World as a Stage cover

Shakespeare: The World as a Stage

Runtime: 5h 27m
Narrator: Bill Bryson
Shakespeare - The Biography: Vol III: A Muse of Fire cover

Shakespeare - The Biography: Vol III: A Muse of …

Runtime: 2h 58m
Narrator: Simon Callow
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival cover

Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal …

Runtime: 9h 47m
Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini
The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street cover

The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Stree…

Runtime: 9h 10m
Narrator: Simon Vance
Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare cover

Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William…

Runtime: 8h 50m
Narrator: Will Tosh
Shakespeare His Life and Works cover

Shakespeare His Life and Works

Runtime: 19h 26m
Narrator: Charles Armstrong
Shakespeare: The Biography (Complete) cover

Shakespeare: The Biography (Complete)

Runtime: 19h 12m
Narrator: Simon Vance

Deep Dives

Books that focus on a single play or critical idea…

This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Greatest Playwright cover

This Is Shakespeare: How to Read the World's Gre…

Runtime: 9h 54m
Narrator: Emma Smith
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics cover

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics

Runtime: 5h 26m
Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini
Shakespeare and the Resistance: The Earl of Southampton, the Essex Rebellion, and the Poems that Challenged Tudor Tyranny cover

Shakespeare and the Resistance: The Earl of Sout…

Runtime: 7h 27m
Narrator: Allan Corduner
Shakespeare, Our Contemporary cover

Shakespeare, Our Contemporary

Runtime: 11h 1m
Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki
Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life cover

Shakespeare is Hard, but so is Life

Runtime: 5h 44m
Narrator: Fintan O'Toole
Stalking Shakespeare: A Memoir of Madness, Murder, and My Search for the Poet Beneath the Paint cover

Stalking Shakespeare: A Memoir of Madness, Murde…

Runtime: 7h 35m
Narrator: Matt Godfrey
Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare’s Globe cover

Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare’s …

Runtime: 20h 3m
Narrator: Andrew Dickson
The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World cover

The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Fol…

Runtime: 6h 42m
Narrator: Tim Getman
Shakespeare Without a Life cover

Shakespeare Without a Life

Runtime: 5h 50m
Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Shakespearean: On Life & Language in Times of Disruption cover

Shakespearean: On Life & Language in Times of Di…

Runtime: 10h 38m
Narrator: Ben Allen
Globe: Life in Shakespeare’s London cover

Globe: Life in Shakespeare’s London

Runtime: 9h 22m
Narrator: Clare Staniforth
Shakespeare’s Book: The Intertwined Lives Behind the First Folio cover

Shakespeare’s Book: The Intertwined Lives Behind…

Runtime: 11h 44m
Narrator: Philip Pope

Myths & Conspiracies

Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? cover

Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

Runtime: 11h 1m
Narrator: Wanda McCaddon
Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies cover

Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies

Runtime: 14h 28m
Narrator: Eunice Wong
North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar's Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard's Work cover

North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar's Quest fo…

Runtime: 15h 25m
Narrator: Will Collyer

Memoirs and Bios

Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures with the Ever-Living Poet cover

Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures with the …

Runtime: 8h 30m
Narrator: Gordon Griffin
And Furthermore cover

And Furthermore

Runtime: 6h
Narrator: Samantha Bond
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent cover

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent

Runtime: 12h 5m
Narrator: Brendan O’Hea, Barbara Flynn, Judi Dench…
Lenny Henry's What's So Great About...?: And 4 other BBC documentaries cover

Lenny Henry's What's So Great About...?: And 4 o…

Runtime: 6h 50m
Narrator: Lenny Henry
As Luck Would Have It cover

As Luck Would Have It

Runtime: 9h 45m
Narrator: Derek Jacobi
My Shakespeare: A Director’s Journey through the First Folio cover

My Shakespeare: A Director’s Journey through the…

Runtime: 18h 23m
Narrator: Greg Doran
John Gielgud In His Own Words cover

John Gielgud In His Own Words

Runtime: 1h 21m
Narrator: John Gielgud

Other

Shakespeare in a Divided America: A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK cover

Shakespeare in a Divided America: A RADIO 4 BOOK…

Runtime: 9h 11m
Narrator: Fred Sanders
Shakespeare's White Others cover

Shakespeare's White Others

Runtime: 6h 58m
Narrator: David Sterling Brown
The Good, the Bard and the Ugly: A funny, modern take on Shakespeare's best-known plays from the Bafta-winning Horrible Histories writer cover

The Good, the Bard and the Ugly: A funny, modern…

Runtime: 5h 3m
Narrator: Susie Donkin
Mad about Shakespeare: From Classroom to Theatre to Emergency Room cover

Mad about Shakespeare: From Classroom to Theatre…

Runtime: 9h
Narrator: Jonathan Bate
Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance cover

Shakespeare's Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the …

Runtime: 11h 57m
Narrator: Hannah Curtis
The Marlowe Papers cover

The Marlowe Papers

Runtime: 8h 50m
Narrator: Jonathan Aris
She Speaks!: What Shakespeare's Women Might Have Said cover

She Speaks!: What Shakespeare's Women Might Have…

Runtime: 3h 30m
Narrator: Harriet Walter
Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy cover

Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us A…

Runtime: 4h 54m
Narrator: Janet Metzger
Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare's Plays cover

Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakesp…

Runtime: 15h 12m
Narrator: Tina Packer, Nigel Gore…
Shakespeare for Grown-ups: Everything you Need to Know about the Bard cover

Shakespeare for Grown-ups: Everything you Need t…

Runtime: 9h 9m
Narrator: Daniel Weyman
Death By Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts cover

Death By Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and …

Runtime: 9h 31m
Narrator: Nicky Diss
Sex with Shakespeare: Here's Much to Do with Pain, but More with Love cover

Sex with Shakespeare: Here's Much to Do with Pai…

Runtime: 9h 56m
Narrator: Jillian Keenan