Shakespeare's Literary Lives
The Author as Character in Fiction and Film

In this book, Franssen investigates the use of Shakespeare as a fictional character in different literary genres, periods and cultures.

Paul Franssen (Author)

9781107565210, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 November 2017

288 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.6 x 15 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

'[This] book covers a wide terrain, provides invaluable insights into the appropriations of Shakespeare and the underlying ideological assumptions, not just in the Anglophone world, but also in Continental Europe … It is telling that I felt myself wanting to read on at the end, a tribute not just to the topic of the book, but also to the accessible style it was written in.' Translation, Appropriation and Performance

This is an entertaining account of Shakespeare's afterlives in fiction. Paul Franssen offers the first sustained analysis of stories and films that involve the character of Shakespeare. Taking a broad international and historical perspective, he shows how fictions about Shakespeare help us understand what he meant to a certain age, nation, or author, and how they have become a vital aspect of the Shakespeare industry. Appearing sometimes as a ghost or time-traveller, fictional Shakespeares have been made to speak to many issues, such as the French Revolution, the Irish conflict, colonialism, the Anglo-American relationship, sexual orientation, race and class. Written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to advanced students as well as academic researchers in Shakespeare studies, film and cultural studies, literary reception and creative writing.

Introduction
1. Shakespeare's ghosts
2. William the Conqueror
3. Stratford to London
4. Wilde imaginings
5. Faith
6. Travels
7. Not of an age
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS], Literary studies: post-colonial literature [DSBH5], Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD], Film theory & criticism [APFA]