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“A spectacular journey… Highly recommended!” Dr Simon Smith, The Shakespeare Institute

“A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics.” Prof Sarah Hart, author of Once Upon A Prime

“A playful and engaging book … bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies.” Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder, Shakespeare’s Globe Education

‘Instead of cleaving maths and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader.’ Dr Rebecca Fisher, The English Association

A fascinating new take on the world of Shakespeare.

What’s the connection between Shakespeare and maths? A lot, as it turns out!

Shakespeare grew up in a time of remarkable mathematical innovation. From astronomy to probability, music to multiplication, new mathematical ideas were taking off – and much of this was reflected in his work. In this highly engaging book, award-winning author Rob Eastaway explores the surprising and entertaining ways that maths and numbers crop up in Shakespeare’s plays.

Find out how Tudors multiplied, why Shakespeare never ended a line with the word orange, and why dice-playing was a serious hazard for the unwary. With historical asides about games, optics, astronomy, music and magic, you will never think about maths, history or Shakespeare the same way again.

Publisher Review

A spectacular journey through Shakespeare’s mathematical world. Highly recommended! — Dr Simon Smith, Associate Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama, The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham Eastaway’s playful and engaging book is packed with a dazzling array of historical facts, and is bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies. Even those who have no time for the Stratford Bard will applaud. — Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder, Shakespeare’s Globe Education You can count on both Rob Eastaway and Shakespeare to make mathematics entertaining, never more so than in this elegant tome which will make your Pericles tingle as you like it. — Sir Tim Rice A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics. — Prof Sarah Hart, Gresham Professor of Geometry, author Once Upon A Prime Instead of cleaving maths and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader – and our understanding of Shakespeare’s life and works is all the richer for it. The perfect book for students and teachers of maths and English alike. — Dr Rebecca Fisher, The English Association