Shakespeare's Syndicate: The First Folio, its Publishers, and the Early Modern Book Trade

Ben Higgins (Career Development Fellow in English Literature, Career Development Fellow in English Literature, Lady Margaret Hall)

Shakespeare's Syndicate: The First Folio, its Publishers, and the Early Modern Book Trade
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Country
United Kingdom
Published
10 March 2022
Pages
320
ISBN
9780192848840

Shakespeare’s Syndicate: The First Folio, its Publishers, and the Early Modern Book Trade

Ben Higgins (Career Development Fellow in English Literature, Career Development Fellow in English Literature, Lady Margaret Hall)

In 1623 a team of stationers published what has become the most famous volume in English literary history: William Shakespeare’s First Folio. Who were these publishers and how might their stories be bound up with those found within the book they created? Ben Higgins offers a radical new account of the First Folio by focusing on these four publishing businesses that made the volume. By moving between close scrutiny of the Folio publishers and a wider view of their significance within the early modern book trade, Higgins uses Shakespeare’s stationers to explore the ‘literariness’ of the Folio; to ask how stationers have shaped textual authority; to argue for the interpretive potential of the ‘minor’ Shakespearean bookseller; and to examine the topography of Shakespearean publication. Drawing on a host of fresh primary evidence from a wide range of sources, including court records, manuscript letters, bookseller’s bills, and the literature itself, Shakespeare’s Syndicate illuminates our understanding of how this landmark volume was made and what it has meant to scholars since. Moreover, it models exciting new ways of working with stationers and of reading the event of early modern publication itself. This innovative study demonstrates that despite four hundred years of history, the volume at the centre of Shakespeare’s canon continues to generate new stories.

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 4 weeks

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.