Shakespeare in the Nineteenth Century

An illustrated collection of new essays with valuable reference material on the performance and reception of Shakespeare's plays.

Gail Marshall (Edited by)

9780521518246, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 February 2012

482 pages, 15 b/w illus.
23.4 x 16.4 x 2.6 cm, 0.89 kg

'… the significance of the collection lies in the varied approaches it opens for a scholar new to the territory. …Marshall's authors animate familiar narratives with lively details … But the volume is at its best in resisting received wisdom about 'Victorian Values' …' Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, Victorian Studies

In the nineteenth century, Shakespeare achieved the status of international pre-eminence that we recognise today. He and his major characters were depicted in statues, paintings and illustrations, and in Stratford-upon-Avon the house where he was born was purchased for the nation and the first Memorial Theatre was built. His words were read, quoted and declaimed in domestic drawing rooms and theatres all around the world, as well as in the works of the leading writers of the day, in intimate love letters and in the pages of radical newspapers. As these new essays show, his was a voice that resonated tellingly throughout the century's cultural, political and literary arenas. The unique reference guide also shows just how popular he was in a number of London theatres and how integral a part he played in the publishing industry of the day and in the burgeoning field of literary criticism.

Introduction Gail Marshall
1. Shakespeare editions Christopher Decker
2. Shakespeare criticism Mark Hollingsworth
3. Shakespeare in the periodicals Kathryn Prince
4. Shakespeare our (nineteenth-century) contemporary Russell Jackson
5. Shakespeare and nineteenth-century fiction Gail Marshall
6. Shakespeare and nineteenth-century poetry Philip Shaw and Gail Marshall
7. Shakespeare and drama David Taylor
8. Shakespeare in London Russell Jackson
9. Shakespeare in the provinces Richard Foulkes
10. Shakespeare and music Julie Sanders
11. Women and Shakespeare Georgianna Ziegler
12. Shakespeare and politics William Greenslade
13. Shakespeare and commercialism Julia Thomas
14. Shakespeare and the visual arts Stuart Sillars
15. Shakespeare in Europe John Stokes
16. Shakespeare and Germany Frederick Burwick
17. Shakespeare in America's Gilded Age Virginia Mason Vaughan
Reference guide: performances of Shakespeare's plays in nineteenth-century London Janice Norwood
Nineteenth-century works about Shakespeare: criticism, editions, reference works, biographies, play publication by year Mark Hollingsworth
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF]