Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing

Description

Shakespeare in Print is a comprehensive 2003 account of Shakespeare publishing and an indispensable research resource. Andrew Murphy sets out the history of the Shakespeare text from the Renaissance through to the twenty-first century, from the twin perspectives of editing and publishing history. Murphy tackles issues of editorial and textual theory in an accessible and engaging manner. He draws on a wide range of archival materials and attends to topics little explored by previous scholars, such as the importance of Scottish and Irish editions in the eighteenth century, the rise of the educational edition and the history and significance of mass-market editions. The extensive appendix is an invaluable reference tool which provides full publishing details of all single-text Shakespeare editions up to 1709 and all collected editions up to 1821. The listing also provides details of a selected range of major editions beyond these dates to the present day.

Andrew Murphy is Reader in English Literature at the University of St. Andrews.

'This is a book I should like to have written. It is at once a highly readable narrative and an invaluable work of reference.' Stanley Wells, Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 'Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing is, astonishingly, just that: the first ever complete history of Shakespeare's texts as they circulated in printed form, from their early editions of no more than a thousand copies to the mass-produced Shakespeare editions of today. Murphy's achievement is extraordinary in chronicling this always interesting and often surprising history. His lively and provocative narrative tells us as much about publishers and their real and imagined readers through the ages as it does about the complex cultural and material practices that have enabled Shakespeare to become 'Shakespeare'.' David Kastan 'A remarkable achievement ... it is hard to imagine how those interested in the transmission of Shakespeare's text have managed without it.' Shakespeare at the Centre Magazine 'Every once in a while, a new study is published whose usefulness is so obvious and its interest such that once can only wonder why no one else has attempted to fill the gap before. Andrew Murphy's Shakespeare in Print is a case in point. It offers no less than the first-ever history of Shakespeare publishing and editing from the late sixteenth to the early twenty-first century. Andrew Murphy is having it both ways. Not content to produce an indispensable reference work, he has simultaneously written an immensely entertaining narrative that makes for compulsive reading ... not only the authoritative scholarly history of Shakespeare publishing, but is also a page turner which many readers will find difficult to put down.' Around the Globe 'A formidable bibliographical achievement, which brings together information from numerous libraries in Britain, Ireland and the United States, this is destined to become a key reference work for Shakespeareans.' Times Literary Supplement 'This is an exciting book ... The author succeeds brilliantly. Written in a lively style ... Murphy's study contains a plethora of information and constitutes a major achievement ... Cambridge University Press has produced a book worthy of its author's major achievement ... Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing is a must for all libraries collecting books on Shakespeare, English literature, bibliography, textual editing and the history of the book.' Reference Reviews 'This is an exciting book ... Cambridge University Press has produced a book worthy of its author's important achievement.' William Baker, Northern Illinois University 'Murphy's book rises effortlessly to the challenge and represents a genuinely awesome achievement ... Murphy provides a lively and engaging account of the long and fascinating history of the rise of Shakespeare's fortunes in print.' The Library 'In Shakespeare in Print, Andrew Murphy has written both a valuable reference work and a clear compelling narrative history of Shakespearean publishing and editing ... Shakespeare in Print is a fine guide to his textual incarnations thus far ... The book synthesizes a huge body of scholarship while deepening our understanding of the more familiar parts of the story ...' The Shakespeare Yearbook 'Andrew Murphy's history of the Shakespeare text provides a fascinating narrative and an excellent resource for every serious reader of Shakespeare.' Sixteenth Century Journal ' ... an immensely readable and engaging narrative ... remarkable achievement ...' Journal of the Printing Historical Society