About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan and early Jacobean period, is the most widely known author in all of English literature and often considered the greatest. He was an active member of a theater company for at least twenty years, during which time he wrote many great plays. Plays were not prized as literature at the time, and Shakespeare was not widely read until the middle of the eighteenth century, when a great upsurge of interest in his works began that continues today.

E. A. Copen lives deep in the deep dark woods outside one of the most haunted cities in Ohio. While working a boring retail job, she entertained herself with stories of the fantastic, some of which became books like Guilty by Association, Death Rites, and Broken Empire. She speaks three languages fluently: English, Latin, and sarcasm. E. A. is currently studying to become proficient in memes.

Reviews

"Much Ado about Nothing focuses on two love affairs, the rivalry between the reluctant Beatrice and the confirmed bachelor Benedick, and the more serious courtship between Hero and Claudio. The former is one of the wittiest romantic conflicts in dramatic literature; the latter narrowly avoids catastrophe by means of a necessary, if contrived, manipulation of the plot to achieve a happy ending."-- "Masterpieces of World Literature"

"The influence of Beatrice and Benedick was felt in the Restoration comedy of manners, whose competitive loving couples similarly disguise their true affection by verbal combat."-- "The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English"

"The play takes an ancient them--that of a woman falsely accused of unfaithfulness--to brilliant comedic heights. In this play, Shakespeare eschewed devices of obvious magic or disguise of sex, which he employed in other comedies; the wit and ambiguity of the dialogue and the exquisite pacing of the action sustain the play, which remains popular in repertory."-- "Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature"

"Much Ado about Nothing focuses on two love affairs, the rivalry between the reluctant Beatrice and the confirmed bachelor Benedick, and the more serious courtship between Hero and Claudio. The former is one of the wittiest romantic conflicts in dramatic literature; the latter narrowly avoids catastrophe by means of a necessary, if contrived, manipulation of the plot to achieve a happy ending."

"The influence of Beatrice and Benedick was felt in the Restoration comedy of manners, whose competitive loving couples similarly disguise their true affection by verbal combat."

"The play takes an ancient them--that of a woman falsely accused of unfaithfulness--to brilliant comedic heights. In this play, Shakespeare eschewed devices of obvious magic or disguise of sex, which he employed in other comedies; the wit and ambiguity of the dialogue and the exquisite pacing of the action sustain the play, which remains popular in repertory."