The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio

In late November 1623, Edward Blount finally took delivery to his bookshop at the sign of the Black Bear near St Paul’s a book that had been long in the making. Master William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies was the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, appearing some seven years after their author’s death in 1616. There was no fanfare at the book’s arrival. There was nothing of the marketing that marks an important new publication in our own period: no advertising campaign, no reviews, interviews, endorsements or literary prizes. Nevertheless, it is hard to overstate the importance of this literary, cultural and commercial moment. Generously illustrated in colour with key pages from the publication and comparative works, this new edition combines the recent 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.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, Oxford.

Review :
"Smith . . . offers a meticulous history of the First Folio, a collection of 36 Shakespeare plays published seven years after his death in 1616. Detailing how the folio was compiled, she explains that prefatory materials written by two actors in Shakespeare's company who helped compile the collection report that it sourced previously published plays from print copies corrected by 'playhouse personnel' and unpublished plays from transcriptions made by professional writers 'for theatrical use.' . . . Shakespeare buffs will want to check this out."-- "Publisher's Weekly" "Smith's close reading of Shakespeare's First Folio reveals a trove of information."-- "Maclean's" (4/25/2016 12:00:00 AM) "With its beautiful illustrations and intriguing background covering aspects of early modern life, this is just the thing for Bard lovers looking to fill in some of the blanks related to the book that gave us ­Shakespeare."-- "Library Journal" (4/25/2016 12:00:00 AM) "The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio . . . is appropriately published by the Bodleian Library, where Professor Smith played a main part in the 'Sprint for Shakespeare' campaign to stabilize and digitize their copy, which has supplied many of the book's rather sepia-coloured images . . . . This is a clearly written account of the main issues in its printing and publication, drawing on the standard authorities." -- "Times Literary Supplement" "The Bodleian Library's The Making of Shakespeare's First Folio . . . [is] full of admirable detail and scholarship, but what we want most of all is to see Shakespeare that feels new and fresh. This kind of performance does just that." -- "Independent" (12/17/2015 12:00:00 AM)