The Private Life of William Shakespeare tells the story of Shakespeare as a family man in Stratford-upon-Avon. Cowen Orlin offers close readings of key archival documents associated with Shakespeare and develops a contextual understanding of the genres from which these documents emerge, reconsidering clusters of evidence that have been held to prove some persistent biographical fables. Cowen Orlin argues, too, that the histories of some of Shakespeare's neighbours illuminate aspects of his own life.

This new biography explores Shakespeare's private life in Stratford-upon-Avon, from his personal aspirations and self-determination, to his relations with his family members and neighbours. We learn that his early wedding freed him from craft training to pursue a literary career, and that his wife's work enabled him to make the first of the property purchases that grounded his life as a gentleman.Throughout, we encounter a Shakespeare who consciously and purposefully designed his life ^—^ a Shakespeare who, having witnessed the business failures of his merchant father, determined not to follow the same path.