Although practising as a lawyer for some thirty-five years (and having a PhD in law) my first degree was English studies. I then taught English for three years and (after a spell as a hospital porter, like the shiftless Jake Donaghue in Iris Murdoch's Under the Net!), I was a social worker for some time before qualifying as a lawyer and pursuing a legal career.I've always enjoyed writing and (apart from contributing some story ideas to Coronation Street in 1973, including a brainy new girlfriend for Ken Barlow (Elaine Perkins, played by Joanna Lumley)) I have written two law books and innumerable articles on legal topics for various publications. I still write regularly for two legal journals: The Law Society Gazette and New Law Journal. However, since retiring from law in 2019 I have returned to my literary roots and have produced two books on Shakespeare’s plays. These are The Regal Throne - Power, Politics and Ribaldry, a detailed guide to Shakespeare’s Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two and Henry V. The first edition of The Regal Throne (published by Liverpool University Press) can still be seen on Amazon. However, a second edition of The Regal Throne will be published by APS books over the next few months and available on Amazon in hardback, paperback and as a Kindle e-book. As Sir Rodney Brooke kindly said of The Regal Throne:‘A wonderfully erudite link between Shakespeare and history. All the obscurities in the Shakespeare plays are removed and they are perfectly reconciled with history. Nicholas Dobson makes Shakespeare read like a novel. An amazingly readable book - or rather four books in one.’ And Malcolm Hebron, currently editor of The Use of English, the journal for teachers of English in secondary and further education said that:‘In The Regal Throne, Nicholas Dobson provides a compendious guide to the pleasurable comprehension of Shakespeare’s so-called tetralogy from Richard II to Henry V. . . I cannot think of any other book which offers such a patient and meticulous commentary of the plays, carefully phrased throughout. I taught all of these plays several times, and thought I knew them well, but thanks to Dobson’s guidance I made many new discoveries and enjoyed numerous moments of clarification . . . It is not only text that is illuminated by The Regal Throne, but the human drama of the plays. . . a student could use this book to revise a particular scene or even speech with ease, as the book is well signposted and simple to navigate. . . Dobson was a practising lawyer for thirty-five years, and he brings to his task a professional skill in forensic analysis, scrutinising the text line by line for meaning, ambiguity, subtlety and nuance. . . over 500 pages of meticulous and elegant commentary, divided into four sections – one for each play – each of which can be read independently. . .precise descriptive language, drawing our attention to the psychology expressed in the writing, offers a great deal more than the presently modish terminology so many students enthusiastically adopt, and makes The Regal Throne a useful source for style as well as knowledge. It deserves a place on every library shelf where Shakespeare is taught.’My most recent Shakespeare book is Descent into Darkness, a comprehensive explanatory guide to Macbeth which illustrates the grisly outcome when a celebrity couple become the partners from Hell, and Macbeth has an ingloriously bloody end while his wife (and enthusiastic partner in crime) takes her own life when her conscience explodes into insanity. Alistair Shaw, educational consultant, author and former headteacher said about Descent into Darkness:‘Nicholas Dobson has created an easy to access and excellent pathway into the intricacies of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. He unpicks and explains the twists and turns of the play extremely well, in a way that brings the context and interactions alive for students, teachers, academics and everyone who enjoys Shakespeare. Not only does he do this through his effective use of accessible language, but he provides a copious number of contextual references and connections with other works, both historical and contemporary. This is a must read for anyone wanting to fully understand the breadth and depth of Shakespeare’s mastery.’And Rev. Geoff Floyd, writing in the Methodist Recorder wrote: '[Dobson] guides us through the tragedy scene by scene, with copious quotations and comprehensive explanations of every difficult or contentious word or phrase in the voluminous notes (which constitute over half of the 360-page book). The extensive bibliography, appendices, and quotations from many sources external to the drama indicate the amount of research behind this commentary. It has been fascinating revisiting the text . . . the cadences, the highly condensed expressions, the characterisations, the rapid descent from hero to monster. . .Not to mention the acute depths of psychological insight in the play. I thoroughly enjoyed [Dobson's] book and I strongly commend it to you.' Geoff was on my Leeds University English degree course, 1967-1970.I hope that if you choose to encounter my books you will enjoy them. Both have copious endnotes containing substantial additional information for those wanting it. And both aim (as Sir Rodney Brooke kindly put it) to remove all obscurities which Shakespeare’s language may present to the modern reader. So if you've purchased one of my books, why not leave a comment on Amazon?Read more about this authorRead less about this author