The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's First Folio

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.

• An accessible and scholarly account of every aspect of one of the most famous books in the English language
• A team of international scholars bring up-to-date and authoritative scholarship to every aspect of the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, the 1623 First Folio
• Chapters include work on the printing and publishing process, the prefatory material, the nature of the texts printed, early readers, and the histories of editing and collecting the Folio