Much Ado About Numbers

'A spectacular journey... Highly recommended!' Dr Simon Smith, The Shakespeare Institute 'A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics.' Prof Sarah Hart, author of Once Upon A Prime 'A playful and engaging book ... bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies.' Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder, Shakespeare's Globe Education 'Instead of cleaving maths and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader.' Dr Rebecca Fisher, The English Association 'The Bard by Numbers, brilliantly accounted for by Rob Eastaway.' Johnny Ball 'This quirky little book will multiply the fun for any general reader interested in adding to their understanding of Shakespeare.' The Washington Post A fascinating new take on the world of Shakespeare. What's the connection between Shakespeare and maths? A lot, as it turns out! Shakespeare grew up in a time of remarkable mathematical innovation. From astronomy to probability, music to multiplication, new mathematical ideas were taking off - and much of this was reflected in his work. In this highly engaging book, award-winning author Rob Eastaway explores the surprising and entertaining ways that maths and numbers crop up in Shakespeare's plays. Find out how Tudors multiplied, why Shakespeare never ended a line with the word orange, and why dice-playing was a serious hazard for the unwary. With historical asides about games, optics, astronomy, music and magic, you will never think about maths, history or Shakespeare the same way again.

'A spectacular journey... Highly recommended!' Dr Simon Smith, The Shakespeare Institute 'A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics.' Prof Sarah Hart, author of Once Upon A Prime 'A playful and engaging book ... bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies.' Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder, Shakespeare's Globe Education 'Instead of cleaving maths and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader.' Dr Rebecca Fisher, The English Association 'The Bard by Numbers, brilliantly accounted for by Rob Eastaway.' Johnny Ball 'This quirky little book will multiply the fun for any general reader interested in adding to their understanding of Shakespeare.' The Washington Post A fascinating new take on the world of Shakespeare. What's the connection between Shakespeare and maths? A lot, as it turns out! Shakespeare grew up in a time of remarkable mathematical innovation. From astronomy to probability, music to multiplication, new mathematical ideas were taking off - and much of this was reflected in his work. In this highly engaging book, award-winning author Rob Eastaway explores the surprising and entertaining ways that maths and numbers crop up in Shakespeare's plays. Find out how Tudors multiplied, why Shakespeare never ended a line with the word orange, and why dice-playing was a serious hazard for the unwary. With historical asides about games, optics, astronomy, music and magic, you will never think about maths, history or Shakespeare the same way again.

Shakespeare's era was abuzz with mathematical progress, from the new concept of "zero" to Galileo's redraft of the heavens. Now, Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare's plays--and his world--touring astronomy, code-breaking, color theory, navigation, music, sports, and more. How reliable was a pocket sundial? Was math illusionist John Dee the real-life Prospero? How long was a Scottish mile, and what could you buy for a groat? Do Jupiter's moons have a cameo in Cymbeline ? How did ordinary people use numbers day to day? And might Shakespeare have tried that game-changing invention--the pencil? Full of delights for devotees of both Tudor history and the Bard, Much Ado About Numbers is proof that the arts and sciences have always danced together.

Shakespeare's era was abuzz with mathematical progress, from the new concept of "zero" to Galileo's redraft of the heavens. Now, Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare's plays--and his world--touring astronomy, code-breaking, color theory, navigation, music, sports, and more. How reliable was a pocket sundial? Was math illusionist John Dee the real-life Prospero? How long was a Scottish mile, and what could you buy for a groat? Do Jupiter's moons have a cameo in Cymbeline ? How did ordinary people use numbers day to day? And might Shakespeare have tried that game-changing invention--the pencil? Full of delights for devotees of both Tudor history and the Bard, Much Ado About Numbers is proof that the arts and sciences have always danced together.