"Shakespeare Settings" can be read as a narrative, but it is also a reference work that allows one to trace connections among persons and events surrounding William Shakespeare. It documents the friendship between two men of very different social classes. It traces the early association in Lancashire of Shakespeare with Edward Alleyn, who served as the manager of Ferdinando Strange's acting group before both men were in London. It inquires into the meaning of the purchase of the Blackfriars gatehouse and the relevance of the persons connected with the gatehouse.

By bringing together...