Shakespeare’s Courtly Mirror: Reflexivity and Prudence in All’s Well That Ends Well

“An original and impressive study of All’s Well That Ends Well. Haley’s interpretation of the text is always perceptive and frequently brilliant. He has illuminated the play more brightly than any of his predecessors.”—Joseph Price “Shakespeare’s Courtly Mirror has a character of real individuality, at once powerful and delicate. Fine and original readings are struck out, again and again, merely in the process of argument, without pretension or noise.”—Barbara Everett “Probably the most probing, detailed, and subtle examination yet to appear of a play that nearly everyone regards as one of Shakespeare’s most challenging dramas. Moreover, Haley’s work is of a kind that possesses an ongoing applicability. I learned from his book.”—Charles Forker “Whenever Haley investigates a subject, he discovers something new about it. For instance, the subject of alchemy, obscure and notoriously difficult, is here lucidly expounded and shown (convincingly, to my surprise) to be highly relevant to the play’s otherwise very unscientific because courtly concerns.”—Emrys Jones “An in-depth and lucid reading of All’s Well. The book is not only an interesting discussion of the specific play, it contributes to the general area of Renaissance studies.”—Helen Bonavita “This is scholarship of the highest caliber.”—David Bevington