Shakespeare's Book

May 1, 2023
Shakespeare scholar Laoutaris (Shakespeare and the Countess) details in this meticulous history the making of the Bard of Avon’s First Folio, which was posthumously published in 1623, seven years after his death. Crediting the folio with securing Shakespeare’s legacy and preserving such previously unpublished plays as Macbeth and Twelfth Night, Laoutaris examines the key figures and “symbiotic effort” that brought the ambitious and financially risky volume to market. Primary among the people were John Heminges and Henry Condell, theater managers and close associates of the playwright. The author also delves into complications caused by booksellers who resisted giving up their printing rights to such previously published plays as The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet, as well as the contributions of compositors, who sometimes cut entire lines in the interest of space while arranging pages for printing (Friar Francis’s “Here comes the Prince and Claudio” was excised from Much Ado About Nothing). Laoutaris also studies how King James I’s plan to resolve political tensions between Britain and Spain by marrying his son to a Spanish princess influenced the folio, most notably in the decision to open with The Tempest, which depicts “conflict resolution through dynastic marriage.” The scrupulous detail impresses, even as accounts of legal wrangling over printing rights sometimes drag. Nonetheless, this is a valuable addition to Shakespeare studies. Photos.