Originally from the Cleveland, Ohio, area, I attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, 
   where I eventually earned a B.A. degree with a major in English Literature.  Though my
   college application specified an interest in the sciences, the trajectory of my education and 
   life changed when I took Dr. J. Arthur Faber's class in Shakespeare.  In my senior year, Dr. 
   Faber, who has remained a friend over the years, encouraged me to pursue a graduate
   education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and it was there that I met Normand
   Berlin, who eventually directed my dissertation on the women in Shakespeare's tragedies.  Like
   many dissertations, this was an effort that needed many more years of teaching and reflecting
   before it was truly ready for a wider audience.  But as a result of the passing years, my
   understanding of this topic has become much clearer and much richer than the treatment in
   that dissertation.  The primary motivation for this book, The Drama of Love and Desire, is to
   bring Shakespeare's plays to life for those who want to understand why he has long been
   considered the best dramatist of any age.  That stellar reputation, however, is under seige by
   current analysis of his work, which emphasizes any perceived prejudice against women and
   other minorities.  Like any of us, Shakespeare had his misconceptions, but his work remains a
   rich treasure of insights that deserve to be shared and preserved.  That's what this book is
   about and why it was written.