Sidney Lee

Sidney Lee
Sidney Lee (1859–1926) was a British biographer and critic, best known for his work on the "Dictionary of National Biography" (DNB), where he contributed numerous entries and eventually became its editor. He also wrote a comprehensive biography of William Shakespeare titled "A Life of William Shakespeare," which remains one of his most influential works. Lee was knighted in 1911 for his contributions to English literature and historical scholarship. His meticulous research and detailed writing greatly shaped biographical studies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Author's Books:


PREFACE This work is based on the article on Shakespeare which I contributed last year to the fifty-first volume of the ‘Dictionary of National Biography.’  But the changes and additions which the article has undergone during my revision of it for separate publication are so numerous as to give the book a title to be regarded as an independent venture.  In its general aims, however, the present... more...

I I Without "the living comment and interpretation of the theatre," Shakespeare's work is, for the rank and file of mankind, "a deep well without a wheel or a windlass." It is true that the whole of the spiritual treasures which Shakespeare's dramas hoard will never be disclosed to the mere playgoer, but "a large, a very large, proportion of that indefinite all" may be... more...