6 must-read biography memoir books like Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench

Cover of Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

By: Judi Dench

4.56

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it bef…

"There's magic to be mined in mistakes."

-Judi Dench, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

"[Judi Dench, referring to departed colleagues] Where are all those people? Can't believe it. How can it happen? They were so alive and -- so present, so vital. That's why we have to love the now, haven't we? Try not to live in the future. [Brendan O'Hea] Or the past. [JD} Well, you have to live a little in the past, because it's part of us, it's who we are. But don't -dwell- in the past. God, we should make the best of every single second we have."

-Judi Dench, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

If you liked the biography memoir plot in Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench , here is a list of 6 books like this:

Cover of Close to Death (Hawthorne & Horowitz, #5) by Anthony Horowitz

1. Close to Death (Hawthorne & Horowitz, #5)

By: Anthony Horowitz

4.18

Format: 419 pages, Hardcover

In New York Times–bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fifth literary whodunit in the Ha… read more

Similar categories in Anthony Horowitz's Close to Death (Hawthorne & Horowitz, #5) book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • audiobook
Cover of An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin

2. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

4.71

Format: 480 pages, Hardcover

An Unfinished Love A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin, one of America’s most … read more

Similar categories in Doris Kearns Goodwin's An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

3. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

By: Erik Larson

4.24

Format: 565 pages, Hardcover

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal fi… read more

Similar categories in Erik Larson's The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • nonfiction
  • adult
  • history
  • audiobook
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"Lincoln on a sofa was like a ship's mast on a barstool, poised in an uneasy equilibrium between relaxation and structural collapse."

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"They were convinced that Britain, once confronted with the loss of Southern cotton, would ally itself with the Confederacy—the “cotton is king"

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"South Carolina is too small for a Republic, and too big for an insane asylum. [James L. Petigru (1789-1863), following the state's vote to secede from the Union in 1860]"

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

Cover of Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens by David   Mitchell

4. Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

By: David Mitchell

4.16

Format: 433 pages, ebook

A rollicking history of England's earliest kings and queens, a story of narcissists, excessive behe… read more

Similar categories in David Mitchell's Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"The defeat of the Armada in 1588 was Elizabeth's high point. Things went downhill after that. Militarily the triumph against Spain was rather undermined the following year when Elizabeth sent her own…"

-David Mitchell, Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

"There were a couple of positives: in 1554, the Queen Regent's Prerogative Act was passed which made explicit, for the first time, that when a woman inherited the throne - became the sovereign, queen …"

-David Mitchell, Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

"Standing jaggedly on Senlac Hill, where Harold Godwinson died, possibly as a result of having taken an arrow to the eye - though possibly more boringly than that, some historians have felt constraine…"

-David Mitchell, Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

"Queen Mary was known as Bloody Mary because of the large number of people she killed. And also because of misogyny. She was the first properly crowned woman to rule as queen regnant, not just queen c…"

-David Mitchell, Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

Cover of James by Percival Everett

5. James

By: Percival Everett

4.54

Format: 303 pages, Hardcover

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and f… read more

Similar categories in Percival Everett's James book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • audiobook
Cover of The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

6. The Backyard Bird Chronicles

By: Amy Tan

4.14

Format: 320 pages, Flexibound

A gorgeous, witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain sight. … read more

Similar categories in Amy Tan's The Backyard Bird Chronicles book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • memoir
  • audiobook
"If there is anything I have learned these past six years, it is this: Each bird is surprising and thrilling in its own way. But the most special is the bird that pauses when it is eating, looks and a…"

-Amy Tan, The Backyard Bird Chronicles

"The (Anna's Hummingbird) males are deadbeat dads that contribute nothing to making the nest, or to feeding either the female or the nestlings. They are off to find other females they can impress with…"

-Amy Tan, The Backyard Bird Chronicles

"During daylight hours, they (Anna's Hummingbirds) feed every 15 minutes, be it tiny insects or nectar from flowers or feeders. If they don't consume food often enough, they can die during the day. If…"

-Amy Tan, The Backyard Bird Chronicles

"I asked Bernd Heinrich if he knew why feeder birds, like finches, discard so many seeds. It turns out he and other scientiests did research on this back in the 1990s - of course, he did -measuring di…"

-Amy Tan, The Backyard Bird Chronicles

Cover of Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

7. Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

By: Salman Rushdie

4.10

Format: 209 pages, Hardcover

From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply pers… read more

Similar categories in Salman Rushdie's Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • biography
  • memoir
  • autobiography
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"Waiting is thinking, and to think deeply is, very often, to change one’s mind."

-Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

"I don’t usually think of my books as prophecies. I’ve had some trouble with prophets in my life, and I’m not applying for the job."

-Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

"To have a room of one’s own, one must have money. (I don’t think Virginia Woolf ever went to India, but her dictum stands, even there, even for men.)"

-Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

"An intimacy of strangers. That's a phrase I've sometimes used to express the joyful thing that happens in the act of reading, that happy union of the interior lives of author and reader."

-Salman Rushdie, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Cover of The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading by James  Patterson

8. The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading

By: James Patterson

3.92

Format: 335 pages, Hardcover

Booksellers and librarians are superheroes, saving lives every single day. Here are their amazing, … read more

Similar categories in James Patterson's The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Different books speak to us at different times."

-James Patterson, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading

Cover of Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2) by Colm Tóibín

9. Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2)

By: Colm Tóibín

3.82

Format: 294 pages, Hardcover

From the beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author comes a spectacularly movi… read more

Similar categories in Colm Tóibín's Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2) book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Table for Two by Amor Towles

10. Table for Two

By: Amor Towles

4.26

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a… read more

Similar categories in Amor Towles's Table for Two book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • adult
  • audiobook
"And though she couldn’t remember the exact reference and whether it was from mythology or the Bible, she knew instinctively as they approached the pier’s limit she mustn’t look back."

-Amor Towles, Table for Two

"It is a funny aspect of life, thought Charlie, how a group of grown people can convince themselves to do something that none of them really want to do. They start by talking an idea into existence. O…"

-Amor Towles, Table for Two

Cover of The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

11. The Paris Novel

By: Ruth Reichl

3.84

Format: 288 pages, Hardcover

Bestselling author Ruth Reichl takes readers on an adventure of food, art, and fashion in 1980s Par… read more

Similar categories in Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • adult
  • audiobook
"That is the most expensive spice in the world. It comes from the Valley of Flowers, where everyone's hands are red from separating the saffron from the blossoms. Each flower has just three strands, s…"

-Ruth Reichl, The Paris Novel

"The fat was bubbling in a pot on the stove. The potatoes went in, were snatched out, then plunged back in. They emerged crisp and golden; Richard sprinkled them with salt and piled them on a platter,…"

-Ruth Reichl, The Paris Novel

"The oysters arrived on a deep bed of ice. She had never eaten an oyster, and she stared down at the platter. A ruffle of black encircled each opalescent heart; she thought of orchids. Triangles of le…"

-Ruth Reichl, The Paris Novel

"A waiter set a small tart of caramelized pears before each of them and added a dab of licorice ice cream. Next came bananas topped with passion fruit and black pepper, little pirouettes of pleasure. …"

-Ruth Reichl, The Paris Novel

Cover of The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18) by Jacqueline Winspear

12. The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18)

By: Jacqueline Winspear

4.46

Format: 342 pages, Hardcover

A milestone in historical mystery fiction as Maisie Dobbs takes her final bow! Psychologist and… read more

Similar categories in Jacqueline Winspear's The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18) book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • audiobook
"You've go to get on with it, my boy. Stop feeling sorry for yourselft, because what's done is done. You can't change it, so you've got to stiffen your backbone. You've a good job, a very nice roof ov…"

-Jacqueline Winspear, The Comfort of Ghosts (Maisie Dobbs, #18)

Cover of Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench

13. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

By: Judi Dench

4.56

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

Discover the work of the greatest writer in the English language as you've never encountered it bef… read more

Similar categories in Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • theatre
  • autobiography
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • adult
  • plays
  • audiobook
"There's magic to be mined in mistakes."

-Judi Dench, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

"[Judi Dench, referring to departed colleagues] Where are all those people? Can't believe it. How can it happen? They were so alive and -- so present, so vital. That's why we have to love the now, hav…"

-Judi Dench, Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

Cover of Enlightenment by Sarah Perry

14. Enlightenment

By: Sarah Perry

3.70

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

A dazzling new work of literary fiction from the author of The Essex Serpent, a story of love and a… read more

Similar categories in Sarah Perry's Enlightenment book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • audiobook
"Thomas [Hart] lived where he'd been born, and where (so he often thought without rancor) he'd very likely die; and if he lived alone he was not lonely, that being a condition not of solitude but of l…"

-Sarah Perry, Enlightenment

"So I told her this: that it's true I've only rarely been happy, and perhaps more often been sad. But I have been content. I have lived. I have felt everything available to me: I've been faithless, de…"

-Sarah Perry, Enlightenment

"I wish I could say, James, that we forgave each other in the end. I wish I could say: she put her head on my shoulder and I welcomed it and we laughed and said all was well. But in fact we were quiet…"

-Sarah Perry, Enlightenment

"...in the ordinary way we love because we're loved, and give more or less what we're given. But to love without return is more strange and more wonderful, and not the humiliating thing I'd once taken…"

-Sarah Perry, Enlightenment

Cover of The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

15. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

By: Helen Simonson

3.96

Format: 432 pages, Hardcover

A timeless comedy of manners—refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside—about… read more

Similar categories in Helen Simonson's The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance by Ramie Targoff

16. Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance

By: Ramie Targoff

3.91

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

This remarkable work about women writers in the English Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shak… read more

Similar categories in Ramie Targoff's Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
Cover of A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing by Hilary Mantel

17. A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing

By: Hilary Mantel

4.33

Format: 419 pages, Hardcover

THE FINAL BOOK FROM ONE OF OUR GREATEST WRITERS In addition to her celebrated career as a noveli… read more

Similar categories in Hilary Mantel's A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • memoir
  • biography memoir
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"Mourning is work. It is not simply being sad. It is naming your pain. It is witnessing the sorrow of others, drawing out the shape of loss. It is natural and necessary and there is no healing without…"

-Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing

"How nice, then, to go to Waterstones and not to have to disinfect yourself when you get home; yet sometimes as a reader I feel nostalgic for disorder, for the random and unpredictable. I find myself …"

-Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing

Cover of The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray

18. The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh

By: Claudia Gray

4.10

Format: 335 pages, Paperback

The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facin… read more

Similar categories in Claudia Gray's The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • audiobook
Cover of Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard

19. Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age

By: Kathleen Sheppard

3.65

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way of exploration in Egypt an… read more

Similar categories in Kathleen Sheppard's Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • history
  • biography
  • nonfiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by James Shapiro

20. The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War

By: James Shapiro

4.11

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

A brilliant and daring account of a culture war over the place of theater in American democracy in … read more

Similar categories in James Shapiro's The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War book and Judi Dench's Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

  • theatre
  • nonfiction
  • history
  • audiobook

8 Best adult books like Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench

Transform Your Habits

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

Erik Larson

4.24

Transform Your Habits

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading

James Patterson

3.92

Transform Your Habits

Long Island (Eilis Lacey, #2)

Colm Tóibín

3.82

Transform Your Habits

Table for Two

Amor Towles

4.26

View all the books

28 best-selling audiobook books like The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by James Shapiro

Transform Your Habits

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

Erik Larson

4.24

Transform Your Habits

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Salman Rushdie

4.10

Transform Your Habits

The Evolution of Annabel Craig

Lisa Grunwald

3.97

Transform Your Habits

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

Judi Dench

4.56

View all the books

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