{"product_id":"the-dream-factory-londons-first-playhouse-and-the-making-of-william-shakespeare-hardcover","title":"The Dream Factory: London's First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDaniel Swift\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow Shakespeare became Shakespeare: a riveting tale of London's first playhouse and the people--actors, writers, builders, investors--who built the Theatre. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBetween 1576 and 1598, a playhouse called the Theatre stood in the northeast suburbs of London, until it was secretly torn down and its timbers used to build the much more famous Globe. Dreamed up and run by a former actor and notorious brawler named James Burbage, the Theatre was the first purpose-built commercial playhouse in London. It was plagued by litigation, heavily in debt, and the target of endless condemnation by preachers and the Lord Mayor. It was also where the young William Shakespeare worked when he first arrived in London, and it was here that he wrote many of his early plays. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt the heart of the Theatre was the dream of making money from creating art. This was Burbage's dream, of course, but it was also Shakespeare's, who worked with a close team of actors and cowriters at the Theatre, building the foundations of his own career and devising a way to make money from writing. Nobody had ever really done this before: playwrights in his time were notoriously poor; and the idea that one might earn a living from writing remains a faint and tempting one today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDaniel Swift's \u003ci\u003eThe Dream Factory\u003c\/i\u003e is a story about art and money, creativity and craft, literary inspiration and the profit motive. The Theatre was a controversial, highly commercial factory for great and challenging art; into the dream factory walked the son of a Stratford tradesman, and out emerged the greatest writer in English.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDaniel Swift\u003c\/b\u003e teaches at the New College of the Humanities in London. His first book, \u003ci\u003eBomber County\u003c\/i\u003e, was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Guardian First Book Award, and his essays and reviews have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eHarper's Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.12 x 8.9 x 9.13 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 11, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978185343277,"sku":"9780374601270","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/kFOMh980ep9780374601270.webp?v=1775800900","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-dream-factory-londons-first-playhouse-and-the-making-of-william-shakespeare-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}