Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
Much Ado About Numbers - Rob Eastaway

Much Ado About Numbers

By: Rob Eastaway

Paperback | 8 July 2025

At a Glance

Paperback


$27.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $6.94 with

In Stock and Ships in 1-2 business days
'A spectacular journey... Highly recommended!' Dr Simon Smith, The Shakespeare Institute

'A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics.' Prof Sarah Hart, author of Once Upon A Prime

'The Bard by Numbers, brilliantly accounted for by Rob Eastaway.' Johnny Ball

What's the connection between Shakespeare and maths? A lot, as it turns out!

- Why was it hazardous to play with dice?
- How did audiences get to the theatre on time?
- Why was 'nothing' so significant to the Tudors?
- What could Falstaff buy with a groat?
- Were cryptic messages hidden in the First Folio?
- And why did Shakespeare never end a line with the word orange?

Shakespeare grew up in a time of remarkable mathematical innovation. From astronomy to probability, new mathematical ideas were taking off. In this highly engaging book, Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways that maths and numbers shaped Shakespeare's plays.

About the Author

Rob Eastaway is an author, speaker and mathematician whose books include the bestselling Maths on The Back of An Envelope and Why Do Buses Come In Threes?. He is regularly to be heard on BBC Radio talking about the maths of everyday life, and has appeared numerous times on the popular programme More Or Less. He has given talks across the world for almost every age group, at venues ranging from The Royal Institution in London to the Mercantile Bar in Dublin. Like everyone else, he had to study Shakespeare at school, but it took a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon to revive his interest.
Industry Reviews
A spectacular journey through Shakespeare's mathematical world. Highly recommended! -- Dr Simon Smith, Associate Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama, The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham

Eastaway's playful and engaging book is packed with a dazzling array of historical facts, and is bound to excite the appetite of all Shakespeare junkies. Even those who have no time for the Stratford Bard will applaud. -- Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder, Shakespeare's Globe Education

You can count on both Rob Eastaway and Shakespeare to make mathematics entertaining, never more so than in this elegant tome which will make your Pericles tingle as you like it. -- Sir Tim Rice

A fascinating and hugely entertaining guide to Shakespearean mathematics. -- Prof Sarah Hart, Gresham Professor of Geometry, author Once Upon A Prime

Instead of cleaving maths and English in twain, Eastaway brings them together to surprise and delight the reader - and our understanding of Shakespeare's life and works is all the richer for it. The perfect book for students and teachers of maths and English alike. -- Dr Rebecca Fisher, The English Association

This quirky little book will multiply the fun for any general reader interested in adding to their understanding of Shakespeare. * The Washington Post *

[An] entertaining look at what really counts in the tragedies, comedies and histories. * Boston Herald *

More in Gift Books and Gift Ideas

Thirsty : 100 Great Wines and Stories by the Wine Guy - Tom Gilbey
How a Game Lives - Jacob Geller

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Cats In Pants - Naomi Tipping

Hardcover

RRP $19.99

$17.75

11%
OFF
Born to Race : The Little Guide to Oscar Piastri - OH
The Dark Legacy Of Daniel Andrews - Morgan Begg

RRP $29.95

$27.75

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

RRP $32.99

$26.99

18%
OFF
My Mother's Life : Mum, I Want to Know Everything About You - Editors of Chartwell Books
The World of Dracula - Puzzle : 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle - Adam Simpson
LEGO: Minifigure Faces - Puzzle : 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle - LEGO
LEGO Rainbow Bricks - Puzzle : 1000-Piece Jigsaws Puzzle - LEGO
100 Australian Butterflies, Bees, Beetles & Bugs - Georgia Angus