Food culture and First Chefs: Appreciating the layers of meaning behind food in Shakespeare’s world and our own
In Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio grabs a leg of roast mutton and throws it to the ground. Doing so, he exclaims, “it engenders choler, planteth anger,/ And better ‘twere that both of us did fast.” As food…
A Guide to Ladies: Hannah Woolley's missing book emerges from the archives
One of Hannah Woolley’s books has sat hidden in plain sight at the Folger since 1990—included in the Folger online catalog, but missing from an international database that scholars often use to search for early English books. It is the…
Seed cake inspired by Thomas Tusser
See a 17th-century recipe for seed cake inspired by the farmer poet Thomas Tusser. Ingredients include rosewater, caraway seeds, and sherry.
Citrus and sugar: Making marmalade with Hannah Woolley
Hannah Woolley’s 17-century recipe for marmalade captures the flavors of exotic citrus with the preservative power of sugar, which had only recently been made widely available to upper- and middle-class British people.
Akara from Africa: Black-eyed pea fritters, inspired by Hercules
Learn more about black-eyed peas’ place in the early modern world and enjoy this akara recipe inspired by Hercules, a chef enslaved by George Washington.
British Beef, French Style: Robert May's Braised Brisket
British beef cooked in a French style: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for brisket from “The Accomplisht Cook,” by 17th-century English chef Robert May.
The "American Nectar": William Hughes's hot chocolate
The perfect post for a winter’s day: Marissa Nicosia shares an early modern recipe for hot chocolate, associated with 17th-century author, botanist, and pirate William Hughes.
Shakespeare and the American Revolution
By the time the first battles of the American Revolution took place in 1775, Shakespeare had been imported from England on stage and page to the New World.
Shakespeare the salesman: Advertising Coca Cola, iPhones, and chewing tobacco
Shakespeare is a familiar sight in the theater and on the movie screen, but he’s permeated many other areas of American life. Advertisers have picked up on the ubiquity of Shakespeare for more than two centuries.
America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to Hollywood
The costumes for Alan Bates and Glenn Close in Hamlet (1990). (The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design: Larry McQueen) Shakespeare has provided rich material for Hollywood’s film industry over the decades, from The Taming of the Shrew (1967) with…
America's Shakespeare: The Bard goes west to California’s Gold Rush mining camps
Theater was explosively popular in California’s Gold Rush era, and miners couldn’t get enough of Shakespeare. San Francisco and Sacramento had major theaters that were repeatedly burning down and being rebuilt almost immediately. Even the small gold-mining towns had stages…
Will and Jane go to war
During World War I, the works of Shakespeare and Austen reached American troops on active duty through the American Library Association’s “War Service Library” program. Between 1917 and 1920, the program collected donations of used books to help them distribute…