To illuminate the creative uses Shakespeare made of the East, this book first looks at the life of the playwright himself, then at the dynasties that did so much to shape England and Persia in the tumultuous age.

Other sections in the book profile key figures in the efforts to forge a connection between the two lands, with particular focus on the colourful Sherleys and their fatally ambitious sponser, the Earl of Essex - a great admirer of Shakespeare.

The final section of the book briefly describes the plays and cites their many allusions to the East - testimony that this literary giant was very much a man of his time.