PMJ acquires Dench's 'love letter to Shakespeare'

Penguin Michael Joseph has seized Dame Judi Dench’s “love letter to Shakespeare”. 

Daniel Bunyard, publisher, bought world rights to Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent from Victoria Belfrage at Julian Belfrage Associates. It will publish on 26th October. US rights have been sold to Michael Flamini, executive editor, St Martin’s Publishing Group, who will publish on 23rd April 2024. 

The synopsis says: “For the first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O’Hea, she will guide us through Shakespeare’s plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters and backstage shenanigans. Interspersed with vignettes on mentors, critics, company spirit and rehearsal room etiquette, she will serve up priceless revelations on everything from the craft of speaking in verse to her personal interpretations of some of Shakespeare’s most famous scenes, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour, striking level of honesty and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes, many of which have remained under lock and key until now.” 

Dench said: “There’s something for everybody in Shakespeare. Everything you have felt or are yet to feel is all in there in his plays: oppression, ambition, loneliness, remorse, everything. If you need to understand jealousy, read ’Othello’ or ’The Winter’s Tale’, if you’re in love listen to Juliet. Shakespeare has examined every single emotion. His writing has the capacity to make us feel less alone. Shakespeare has been a cornerstone – a constant in my life. Revisiting these plays while writing the book has been one of the most fulfilling and happiest of times.” 

O’Hea added: “Judi and I have been friends for 28 years, we’ve spent many of them discussing (and occasionally arguing about) Shakespeare. But I have learnt so much more about her as we wrote this book. Many of the directors she has worked with have been at the vanguard of British Theatre, and it has been a pleasure to be transported into their rehearsal rooms. Her insights on Shakespeare are incisive and refreshing in their simplicity. And I’ve never known her to reveal so much about herself or her craft. But above all, it’s been an immense privilege to have an actor at the top of their game for nearly seven decades lead me by the hand and introduce me to these extraordinary Shakespearean women.” 

Bunyard described the book as “one of the most heartfelt, passionate and personal books about Shakespeare” which reveals “much of the friendship and warmth between its writers – something they’ve been generous to share with us all. It is a gem; sparkling with humour, lit by insight, multifaceted and far-ranging. We’re immensely proud to be publishing it.” 

The book will also contain never-before-seen sketches by Dench herself, including the jacket illustration.