The ideas for Shakespeare's plays did not just spring from his head fully formed: there had to be some reading and research before the playwright put pen to paper. In this highly accessible book, Simon Webb looks at how the man from Stratford 'borrowed' ideas from a wide range of sources - from the Bible and the Greek and Roman classics to traveller's tales and even plays written by his rivals. A graduate of the Shakespeare Institute, author Simon Webb has been fascinated by the playwright and his world since the age of twelve.