Copy of Penguin – Website – Flatlay – Straight – Main template (5)

Features

The best books out in October

The Man Who Pays The Rent

Shakespeare

A LOVE LETTER TO 67 YEARS OF ACTING ON STAGE - THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
A witty, insightful journey through the plays and tales of our beloved Shakespeare 
‘Wonderfully inspiring. A delightful spell in the company of one of our greatest actresses’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year 
‘Gloriously entertaining. Reading it feels like a chat with an old friend’ Observer 
 
‘A magical love letter to Shakespeare’ Kenneth Branagh 
---- 
 
For the very first time, Judi Dench opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played in her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. 
Here, she reveals her behind the scenes secrets; inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour and striking honesty. 
This is Judi's love letter to William Shakespeare – the man who pays the rent. 
---- 
Praise for The Man Who Pays the Rent 
 
'This book is pure enchantment’ Daily Mail 
 
'This is a gloriously entertaining tour through the canon in the company of perhaps the most experienced living Shakespearean actor' Observer 
 
'An utterly delightful book. An unstoppable stream of anecdotes, recollections and asides' Telegraph 
 
‘Companionable and compelling, mischievous and convivial – it genuinely feels like you’re sitting at her kitchen table with Judi Dench’ Guardian 
 
‘Gorgeous’ Literary Review 
 
‘A wonderful mixture of appreciation and anecdote’ Financial Times, Books of the Year 
 
 
Instant Sunday Times bestseller, November 2023

Wonderfully inspiring. A delightful spell in the company of one of our greatest and most thoughtful actresses

A magical love letter to Shakespeare

A wonderful mixture of appreciation and anecdote

It’s a mark of Dench’s impish genius and O’Hea’s deftness that it genuinely feels like you’re sitting at her kitchen table with her. It’s companionable and compelling – if you love Judi Dench or Shakespeare (and most of us do), look no further

An utterly delightful book…there can be few higher pleasures in civilised life than hearing Judi Dench recite the poetry of Shakespeare. What emerges is a wealth of unpretentious horse sense – Shakespeare from a great actor’s perspective – that repeatedly strikes to the heart of the matter with a sharp instinctive intelligence that puts fancy-pants literary critics to shame

This is a gloriously entertaining tour through the canon in the company of perhaps the most experienced living Shakespearean actor; reading it feels like a chat with an old friend.

The book is pure enchantment. It swirls and dances with brilliance and mischief, so forget traditional Shakespearean criticism and analysis. Sack the Eng. Lit. professors. As never before, this book brings the subject to wild, authentic life.

Dame Judi Dench is one of the world's most celebrated actresses. She has won numerous major awards for work on both stage and screen - including an Academy Award, ten BAFTAs and a record eight Laurence Olivier Awards. In recognition of her many achievements she received an OBE in 1970, became a DBE in 1988, and in 2005 was awarded a Companion of Honour.

Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; cavorting naked through the countryside painted green; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head... these are just a few things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare. 
 
In this book, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career. In a series of conversations with actor/director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets behind her rehearsal process and vignettes of her creative partnerships, all told with her mischievous sense of humour and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes.

Judi Dench

A memoir

You might think you know Judi Dench. In a seven-decade career, she's been a spymaster, an Oscar-winning queen and has starred in musicals, blockbusters, tragedies and comedies. But what makes her tick? How did she become so successful and for so long? And why did her mother occasionally feel obliged to spray her with a garden hose?Spend time in her company as Judi gradually starts to reveal herself, in collaboration with her friend and writing partner, Brendan O'Hea. With her actor's gift for storytelling, she takes us back to her upbringing in York: the parents who shaped her, the brother who encouraged her to act and the teachers who inspired her.She tells of pranks, onstage and off, dissects her greatest screen roles and shares tales of her joyful marriage to actor Michael Williams, as well as her passion for nature and animals. From being locked out of the Oscars to almost coming a cropper to a pack of crocodiles in Borneo, Judi's life has been nothing if not adventurous. Just don't ask her to cook you a meal.Funny, intimate, surprising, moving and over ninety years in the making, this is the story of Britain's most beloved actor.

Judi Dench

Books by Judi Dench

Articles featuring Judi Dench

The best books out in October

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter