Over the past couple of years I have begun to fall in love with Shakespeare’s work. Now, as I have grown a little older and mature and I’ve been studying English Literature at a much higher level (A level), I seem to understand the message and wit in his plays and enjoy them so much more.

I live around a 45 minute drive from Stratford-Upon-Avon, which I know is lucky, and it wasn’t my first time visiting (in fact I’ve visited many times before as I absolutely adore it). Just last April I was there with my Dad to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company’s performance of Hamlet, which was incredible.

Now that I’ve finished my A levels, we decided to take a trip to Stratford again to have a look around his birthplace (and of course, visit the book shop) before it gets too busy in the summer holidays. It was lovely, and though it was small and didn’t take long to go around, it was really interesting. My ticket also covered entrance to his daughter’s house (you can’t buy a ticket to just his birthplace) so we had a look around there too, and it was a lot grander but still interesting.

It’s somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a while now, having become such a lover of Shakespeare. The bookshop is amazing; there are so many editions of his plays to choose from and I bought way too many, which I’ll show in a moment. I also bought an amazing mug with Shakespeare’s insults on (I do believe that the world would be a much better place if everyone used Elizabethan insults instead). I thought I’d post a mini-haul on here, and share with you which books I got. They had some special editions which were absolutely gorgeous, and then I bought three of the Royal Shakespeare Company editions too.

The Penguin Special Birthplace editions:

The Tempest (blue), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (green), Romeo and Juliet (pink) and The Sonnets and A lover’s Complaint (patterned).

Royal Shakespeare Company editions:

King Lear, Hamlet (which is my all-time favourite play) and Othello.

If you’re ever near the area, I’d definitely recommend stopping by and having a look, as it was fascinating to see where Shakespeare grew up and lived before he became famous. Stratford-Upon-Avon is such a gorgeous place as well, it’s absolutely worth a visit.