9 h 23 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 23 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Behind Shakespeare’s name lies a family of farmers, glovers and neighbours—and a paper trail through Warwickshire.
In Shakespeare’s Family, Charlotte Carmichael Stopes turns from the plays to the people around William Shakespeare. She traces his parents, grandparents, wife, children and grandchildren through parish registers, wills, court rolls and town records. Her focus is the family world behind the poet, rooted in Warwickshire’s villages and fields.
Follow John Shakespeare from the countryside into Stratford upon Avon, where he works as a glover, deals in leather goods and buys houses on Henley Street. Meet Anne Hathaway’s family in nearby Shottery. Through these households, Stopes explores a family’s rise into the small gentry of a market town.
What you’ll discover
- Roots in Warwickshire Trace the families behind William’s parents through the villages and records of Warwickshire.
- John Shakespeare’s working world Follow a father’s path through leather work, house purchases and life in Stratford.
- Anne Hathaway’s family Look beyond her familiar name to her family, their farm and their records.
- Beyond the poet’s household Meet Shakespeare’s daughters and their husbands as Stopes follows the family into later generations.
- The patient paper trail See how wills, parish registers and town records bring relatives back into view.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love family trees, old records and the small human details behind a famous name, and who want Shakespeare as a son, husband and father.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The name points to feats of arms
- Early Shakespeares appear all over England
- Warwickshire is the family's home ground
- John Shakespeare's arms stir a heralds' quarrel
- The Arden arms and Mary Arden's descent
- Robert Arden's will and the loss of Asbies
- John Shakespeare rises in Stratford and then falters
- William Shakespeare builds a gentleman's life
- The poet's line ends within two generations
- Cousins, namesakes and the Ardens' ancient roots
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La famiglia di Shakespeare
by C. C. Stopes · 1901
John Shakespeare applies for a coat of arms in 1596, and the heralds start to argue over his wife's family.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
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In short
What do a spear, a nun, a glover and a beheaded squire have in common? In this book they all belong to one family story, the family of William Shakespeare.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The name points to feats of arms
Stopes opens with the name. She argues that it was a meaningful name, given to a first bearer for courage and skill in battle, like Breakspear and Armstrong.
Verstegan and Camden both list Shakespeare among surnames drawn from what a man carried or did. If the name is made of two real words, she says, the spelling should follow those words, and in the sixteenth century spear was written speare. The poet used this form himself on his two early poems in 1593 and 1594.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1901
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Stopes, Charlotte Carmichael. Shakespeare’s Family. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/shakespeares-family.
Stopes, C. C. (2026). Shakespeare’s family. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/shakespeares-family (Original work published 1901)
Stopes, Charlotte Carmichael. Shakespeare’s Family. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/shakespeares-family.
@book{stopes2026shakespeares,
author = {Stopes, Charlotte Carmichael},
title = {Shakespeare’s Family},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/shakespeares-family},
note = {First published 1901}
}
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What is Shakespeare's Family by C. C. Stopes about?
It follows the Shakespeare and Arden families through wills, court rolls and registers. It covers the poet's parents, his marriage, his children, and his descendants to 1670, then traces the Ardens back to the Saxon earls of Warwick.
Did Shakespeare have any living descendants?
Stopes says no. His son Hamnet died in 1596, and his granddaughter Elizabeth, Lady Barnard, died in 1670 without children. Anyone named Shakespeare descends from other branches, not from the poet himself.
Who was Mary Arden?
She was William Shakespeare's mother, the youngest daughter of Robert Arden of Wilmecote. Stopes traces her father to a younger son of the Ardens of Park Hall and describes her inheritance of the land called Asbies.
The author
Charlotte Carmichael Stopes
1840–1929 · British Shakespeare scholar and suffragist
C. C. Stopes was Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (1840–1929), a British writer and campaigner for women’s voting rights. She was born in Edinburgh and later lived in London. She wrote about William Shakespeare and women’s history. Her books included Shakespeare’s Family (1901) and British Freewomen (1894).
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