The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio

Emma Smith

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Hardback

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English

Bodleian Library
18 April 2023

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Shakespeare studies & criticism; History; Social & cultural history

The Making of Shakespeare’s First Folio offers the first comprehensive biography of the earliest collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. In November 1623, the book arrived in the bookshop of the London publisher Edward Blount at the Black Bear. Long in the making, Master William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies—as the First Folio was then known—appeared seven years after Shakespeare’s death. Nearly one thousand pages in length, the collection comprised thirty-six plays, half of which had never been previously published. Yet no fanfare surrounded the initial publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio—no queue of eager readers, no launch to the top of the best-seller list.

Nevertheless, it is hard to overstate the importance of this literary, cultural, and commercial moment. Emma Smith tells the story of the First Folio’s origins, locating it within the social and political context of Jacobean London and bringing in the latest scholarship on the seventeenth-century book trade. Generously illustrated in color with key pages from the publication and comparative works, this new edition combines the 2016 discovery of a hitherto unknown edition of the First Folio at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute with the human, artistic, economic and technical stories of the birth of this landmark publication—and the birth of Shakespeare’s towering reputation.

By: Emma Smith
Imprint: Bodleian Library
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781851245987
ISBN 10: 1851245987
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 18 April 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgements vii Prologue viii Introduction 1 Chapter one: The Plays & their Presentation 7 Chapter two: Shakespeare’s Reputation 77 Chapter three: Team Shakespeare: The Backers 114 Chapter four: Printing & Publishing 187 Chapter five: Becoming ‘The First Folio’ 215 Notes 242 Further reading 249 Picture credits 252 Index 254

Emma Smith is Fellow and Tutor in English at Hertford College, Oxford.

Reviews for The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio

"""The detailed discussion of the folioʼs publication offers enlightening glimpses into the history of the book trade, and the reproduction of full pages from such plays as The Tempest and The Merry Wives of Windsor will please fans who are unwilling to shell out three million pounds for the actual article. Shakespeare buffs will want to check this out.""-- ""Publisher's Weekly"""