The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's First Folio

An international team of scholars covers every aspect of one of the most famous books in the English language.

Emma Smith (Edited by)

9781107098787, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 August 2016

216 pages
24 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.43 kg

'… takes the reader on a journey through the history of perhaps the book world's most famous literary edition. … Readers of The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's First Folio are lucky. Not only because they have in their hands an excellent resource that will elucidate many aspects of the edition, but also because modern digital renderings of the First Folio are now more accessible than ever.' William J. Humphries, The Seventeenth Century

Shakespeare's First Folio, published in 1623, is one of the world's most studied books, prompting speculation about everything from proof-reading practices in the early modern publishing industry to the 'true' authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Arguments about the nature of the First Folio are crucial to every modern edition of Shakespeare and thus to every reader or student of the plays. This Companion surveys the critical methods brought to bear on the Folio and equips readers with the tools to understand it and to develop their skills in early modern book culture more generally. A team of international scholars surveys the range of bibliographic, historical and textual material relating to the Folio, its editors, collectors and critical reception. This revealing volume will be of wide interest to scholars of Shakespeare, the history of the book and early modern drama.

Preface Emma Smith
1. Shakespeare in print before 1623 Tara L. Lyons
2. Publishing the First Folio Eric Rasmussen
3. Printing the First Folio B. D. R. Higgins
4. The prefatorial material Chris Laoutaris
5. The provenance of the Folio texts Gabriel Egan
6. 'Complete' works: the Folio and all of Shakespeare Peter Kirwan
7. Early buyers and readers Jean-Christophe Mayer
8. Editors Edmund G. C. King
9. Collectors Steven K. Galbraith
10. Reading the First Folio Emma Smith
11. Digital First Folios Sarah Werner
12. Afterword: the Folio as fetish Adam G. Hooks.

Subject Areas: Literary companions, book reviews & guides [DSRC], Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD], Shakespeare plays [DDS]