From Country Lad to Gentleman

It is 1585 and a young man sets out from a small town in the midlands of England to another small town. There he is so influenced by his experiences that he decides to be a player. Forced by circumstances to flee to London he is coerced into a series of adventures during which he decides that what he really wants from life is to be a successful merchant. By 1616 he has achieved his aim despite efforts to force him to stay in acting and continue writing for the theatre. This is the true story of a man of whom it has been said by historians that all the known facts of his life can be written on two sides of a sheet of paper.