In 1606, as England was roiling from a near-assassination attempt on King James, the plague returned to wreak havoc on Londoners once again.

But, as James Shapiro explores in his informative and exciting new book, 1606 was a significant, epoch-defining time that formed the background to two of Shakespeare greatest tragedies, King Lear ...

In the 1590s, King James VI of Scotland's fear of witchcraft began stirring up national panics, ... Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare and first performed in 1606.