The books of the Englishman Peter Ackroyd (b. 1949) have become widely known not only in his homeland, but also in Russia. A poet, novelist, and author of biographies, Ackroyd published about four dozen books, an important place among which is the biography of his great compatriot William Shakespeare. The biography, published in 2005, like everything written by Ackroyd about England and the English people of different eras, is distinguished by the deepest knowledge of the history and culture of the country. Placing his hero in the context of the Elizabethan era, the author notices many curious details characteristic of it. “I’m trying to come up with a new kind of biography, to look at history from a different angle,” Ackroyd admitted in one of his interviews. Apparently, he completed this task brilliantly. Unlike many of his predecessors, Ackroyd portrays Shakespeare not as a divine genius, but as a completely earthly man who did not forget to take care of his well-being, as an actor who devoted all his strength to the theater, and as a writer , whose life was spent in tireless work.