The Lodger Author:Charles Nicholl In 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster ; it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine ; a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry ; but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist's famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying gla... more »ss to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare's life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure and King Lear.« less