Tracing the sources: from Shakespeare's influences to the silver that shaped history.
Writer, illustrator, and historian R. K. Aanstad explores the hidden foundations of our greatest stories and the tangible forces that built our world, from the classical myths and Renaissance rivalries that fueled the Bard, to the precious metal that funded empires and microchips alike.
Two new books · January 2027 · Pen & Sword, and Silver · 2028 · McFarland
The shelf
The Books
The Influences Behind Shakespeare's Plays
Unlocking the world behind the words.
Pen & Sword · January 2027
Full description
William Shakespeare is often portrayed as a solitary genius, a fountain of creation sprung from nowhere. This book dismantles that myth, revealing the rich tapestry of ideas, traditions, and controversies that fueled his imagination.
Journey beyond the page to explore the vibrant ecosystem that shaped his work: the bustling world of Renaissance London, from the astrological charts and necromantic texts that informed his plots to the biting satire of the "Poets War" with his rivals; the larger world, from the edges of the Ottoman Empire to the shores of Bermuda, that provided the geopolitical foundations for his settings; the Commedia dell'arte stock characters that inspired his comedies; and the Plutarch lives of the ancients that were the bedrock for his tragedies.
For students, actors, directors, and anyone who has ever wondered where Shakespeare's magic truly came from, this is an indispensable companion.
From the Gates of Troy to the Battle of Bosworth, Shakespeare's history plays are filled with a cast drawn from over three millennia of history, organized chronologically and cross-referenced by play, from Troilus and Cressida and Julius Caesar to the entire cycle of English history plays.
Meet the real Lady Macbeth, a respected queen who made a pilgrimage to Rome; the real Margaret of Anjou, a formidable political operative; and the figures who never appear on stage but whose lives underpin the drama: Edward III, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, and Lady Margaret Beaufort.
Fully illustrated, with detailed genealogies, battle timelines, and comprehensive cross-referencing, this book will transform how you experience these timeless plays.
Five thousand years of power, traced along one unbroken river of metal.
From the first coins of Lydia to the microchips of Silicon Valley, one elemental thread runs through the tapestry of human civilization: silver. This book argues that silver is not merely a form of money or a precious commodity, but the fundamental physical resource that has repeatedly enabled the rise of empires, funded transformative technologies, and dictated the tides of global power.
The flow begins in the ancient springs of Anatolia, where Hittite myths deified silver and Lydian kings forged it into the first coins; it becomes the lifeblood of classical antiquity, funding the Athenian navy that saved Greece, financing Philip II's Macedonian war machine, and arbing Rome's fate, as the Republic conquered the Mediterranean with Iberian silver only to be torn apart by the civil wars this wealth ignited. After Rome, the river moves into the treasuries of the Abbasid Caliphate and along the Silk Road; through the medieval Bullion Famine that stifled Europe and the devastating flood of Spanish silver from Potosí that inflated economies across the globe; and finally into photography, electronics, and the digital revolution.
The book closes in our present moment: the AI boom and the green-energy transition rest upon a new, industrial "silver standard," in which geopolitical dominance may again hinge on control of mines and microchip fabrication plants. It is the same question that drives the Shakespeare books (where does the power on the stage come from?) asked of the whole world.
McFarland · 2028 · final title to be confirmed
The podcast
Shakespeare and Friends
R.K. co-hosts this podcast with renowned Shakespeare scholar Darren Freebury-Jones, featuring conversations with the actors, authors, and historians who keep the Bard alive.
R. K. Aanstad, with one of the three silly little dogs who actually run the household.
R. K. Aanstad is a writer, illustrator, historian, and self-confessed Shakespeare nerd with an MFA in theatre. She is the author of Who's Who in Shakespeare's History Plays: From Achilles to Anne Boleyn, The Influences Behind Shakespeare's Plays, A Bawdy Twelfth Night or What You Will Encyclopedia & Dramaturgical Handbook, and A Midsummer Night's Dream Illustrated Handbook and Encyclopedia.
Based in the Pacific Northwest, she co-hosts the podcast Shakespeare and Friends with renowned Shakespeare scholar Darren Freebury-Jones, and has appeared on That Shakespeare Life and The History of European Theatre. Her work lives at the intersection of scholarship and stagecraft: books made for actors, directors, students, and anyone who loves a good story about where good stories come from. Her historian's eye turns next from the Bard's sources to the metal that funded five thousand years of empires.
She shares her home with two bossy cats, three silly little dogs, and a great many books.
MFA in TheatreWriter & illustratorCo-host, Shakespeare and FriendsPacific Northwest, USA
The studio
Illustrations & tiny worlds
Between books, R.K. draws plates, maps, and marginal creatures from the handbooks, plus the miniature worlds she builds for other people's shelves. Click any plate to enlarge.
Plate I: title to comePlate II: title to comePlate III: title to comePlate IV: title to comePlate V: title to comePlate VI: title to comePlate VII: title to comePlate VIII: title to come
The Dollhouse Shop
Miniature dollhouse kits, illustrated and designed by R.K., offering tiny, buildable worlds for patient hands, available on Etsy.
Everything you need to book, introduce, and credit R. K. Aanstad: bios, images, and interview topics in one place. For booking, email hello@rkaanstad.com; replies within two business days.
R. K. Aanstad is a writer, illustrator, and historian with an MFA in theatre, and the co-host of the podcast Shakespeare and Friends. Her books include The Influences Behind Shakespeare's Plays and Who's Who in Shakespeare's History Plays: From Achilles to Anne Boleyn, both published by Pen & Sword Books in January 2027. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Long bio: for programs & press releases
R. K. Aanstad is a writer, illustrator, historian, and Shakespeare nerd with an MFA in theatre. She is the author of Who's Who in Shakespeare's History Plays: From Achilles to Anne Boleyn and The Influences Behind Shakespeare's Plays (Pen & Sword Books, January 2027), as well as A Bawdy Twelfth Night or What You Will Encyclopedia & Dramaturgical Handbook and A Midsummer Night's Dream Illustrated Handbook and Encyclopedia. Her forthcoming A Global History of Silver will be published by McFarland in 2028. Aanstad co-hosts the podcast Shakespeare and Friends with renowned Shakespeare scholar Darren Freebury-Jones, and has appeared on That Shakespeare Life and The History of European Theatre. Her books are built for the people who make and love theatre (students, actors, directors, and history enthusiasts), combining rigorous research with accessible, fully illustrated guides. She is based in the Pacific Northwest, where she shares her home with two bossy cats, three silly little dogs, and lots of books.
Interview topics: The Influences
The myth of the solitary genius, and what actually fed Shakespeare's imagination
The "Poets War": Shakespeare's feud-era rivalries with Marlowe, Kyd, and Jonson
Astrology, necromancy, and the occult texts hiding inside the plays
How Commedia dell'arte's stock characters walked into Shakespeare's comedies
Plutarch, Ovid, Seneca: the classical bedrock of the tragedies
From the Ottoman Empire to Bermuda: the geopolitics behind the settings
Interview topics: Who's Who
The real Lady Macbeth: a respected queen who made a pilgrimage to Rome
Margaret of Anjou: history's villainess, recast as a formidable political operative
The women behind the Wars of the Roses: Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Lady Margaret Beaufort
Edward III's five sons: the family tree that set a century of war in motion
From Achilles to Anne Boleyn: three millennia of history on one stage
Suggested host intro: "My guest today is a writer, illustrator, and historian who co-hosts the podcast Shakespeare and Friends…"
Questions about the books, interview requests, or a Shakespeare hot take you need to share? Write any time. For press and interviews, the media kit above has everything a host needs.
