Hamlet’s Dresser

A vivid and lyrical memoir of a man damaged in childhood but redeemed by Shakespeare. ‘Written with such delicate and sensitive humanity that laughter and tears are constantly interchanging. What a lovely man, with a golden gift for words and a deep understanding of human frailties and fears. The Shakespearean motif is superbly handled, never tricksy or clever but true and moving. I found it inspirational; it made me look at those around me more sympathetically – especially the aged. His compassion touched me deeply’. Derek Jacobi Bob Smith was a fragile boy from a difficult household that was presided over by an unstable, depressive mother who depended on him, an unsupportive, unavailable father and a severely disabled, beautiful sister who lived at home, largely cared for by Bob. At the age of ten he stumbled upon a line from THE MERCHANT OF VENICE – ‘in sooth I know not why I am so sad’ – recognized himself in this poetic, melancholy language, and found a buoy that would keep him afloat for the rest of his tumultuous life. He now knows every single Shakespeare play inside and out and every week Bob teaches the play to over six hundred senior citizens. A sad, funny and inspiring account of how one man’s life was saved by Shakespeare, this will be the memoir of the year.