“Joseph Pearce writes piercingly brilliant books. This is one of them. He usually writes dramatic biographies. This is not one of them. It is not a biography and it is the least dramatic book he has written. But it is also the most important one. To see its importance, try the following thought-experiment. Imagine a book that convincingly proved that Homer was a Jew, or that Milton was a lapsed Catholic, or that Dante was a proto-Protestant. The idea would have far-ranging consequences. It would cast a new light on everything we knew about Homer, or Milton, or Dante. In his next book Pearce will trace the consequences of Shakespeare’s Catholicism in his plays. In this book, he proves it historically. I mean proves it. (Pearce would make a formidable lawyer.) The evidence is simply overwhelming.”
— Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Boston College, Author, Summa of the Summa

“I’ve long suspected that there was a deep Catholic sensibility in the plays of Shakespeare—an emphasis on man’s powerlessness without grace, yet also an openness to the sacramentality of nature, and to the energetic work of dutiful yet often mistrusted or despised servants. Pearce shows that Shakespeare himself was such a dutiful servant, ever dutiful to the Queen, but to God first. He does not leap to conclusions, but builds a case that is meticulous, reasonable, and convincing.”
—Anthony Esolen, Ph.D., Providence College Professor of Renaissance English

“Joseph Pearce has brought together here a mass of material on the vexed question as to Shakespeare’s religious affiliation—a question which scholars have traditionally tried sedulously to ignore. But it is a question of more than merely neutral historic curiosity. Readers, I feel sure, will be quickly drawn in to the matter. Once again, we owe Mr. Pearce a great debt.”
— Thomas Howard, Ph.D. Author, Dove Descending: T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets

“What more is there to be said about William Shakespeare? Yet the supply of books on the great dramatist is never ending. Now, however, there is a new reason for this supply. The religion of Shakespeare, and specifically his Catholicism, is now recognized as a ‘hot topic’ both in the academic and the publishing world. And now Joseph Pearce, long recognized as a brilliant writer on great English Catholics, has gone back in The Quest for Shakespeare to this greatest of English Catholics, showing precisely how his greatness consists in his hidden Catholicism. This is a book that bodes well to proving a literary masterpiece.”
— Peter Milward, S.J., Author, Shakespeare the Papist

“Pearce writes with historical insight on one hand and poetic imagination on the other. Perhaps our greatest living biographer, Pearce has the uncanny ability to get into the minds, hopes, fears, and motivations of his subjects.”
— Bradley J. Birzer, Ph.D. Author, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth

“Practicing the best virtues of detective, lawyer, scholar, and storyteller, Joseph Pearce convincingly reconstructs the historical crucible which produced the world’s greatest poet. His explication of how Shakespeare was shaped by realities of personal courage, political danger, and eternal sacramental love will unshutter long obscured lamps within the plays and poems for every reader.”
— Gene Fendt, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Author, Is Hamlet a Christian Drama?