Published in 2023
11 hours and 13 minutes
Sophie Duncan is Research Fellow and Dean for Welfare at Magdalen College, University of Oxford. She writes about Shakespeare and gender and has worked extensively in theatre and television as a historical advisor. She is the author of several books, including Shakespeare’s Women and the Fin de Siècle. She lives in Oxford, UK.
What is this book about?
‘A thirteen-year-old girl is at a party. A boy, slightly older, sees her. Juliet. This book is about that girl.’
A cultural, historical and literary exploration of the birth, death and legacy of the ultimate romantic heroine—Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet.
Juliet Capulet is the heartbeat of the world’s most famous love story. She is an enduring romantic icon. And she is a captivating, brilliant, passionate teenage girl who is read and interpreted afresh by each new generation.
Searching for Juliet takes us from the Renaissance origin stories behind William Shakespeare’s child bride to the boy actor who inspired her creation onstage. From enslaved people in the Caribbean to Italian fascists in Verona, and real-life lovers in Afghanistan. From the Victorian stage to 1960s cinema, Baz Luhrmann and beyond.
Sophie Duncan draws on rich cultural and historical sources and new research to explore the legacy and reach of Romeo and Juliet far beyond the literary sphere. With warmth, wit and insight, she shows us why Juliet is for now, for ever, for everyone.
