Off the shelf
Judi Dench's take on Viola in Shakespeare's Twelth Night
What’s going through Viola’s head as she woos Olivia on Orsino’s behalf? Dame Judi Dench reflects on this key scene in this excerpt from her newly published book.
The African Company and Black Shakespeare in 1820s New York
Joyce Green MacDonald is the author of this excerpt from The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race, a collection of essays edited by Patricia Akhimie.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare's House"
“When it came to Elizabethan furniture, you could never be completely certain that it wasn’t bewitched,” writes Richard Schoch.
The education of Henry VIII
How did Henry VIII’s childhood and education help shape him into the king he would become? This excerpt from Hunting the Falcon offers some intriguing insights.
A witty Fool and foolish wit: Christopher Moore’s Pocket Chronicles
Austin Tichenor writes about Christopher Moore’s trio of comic novels, which follow the fool from King Lear as he interacts with other Shakespeare characters.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare in Bloomsbury" by Marjorie Garber
The young Virginia Woolf encounters Shakespeare’s Cymbeline and gives her opinions.
Excerpt: "The Great White Bard"
Farah Karim-Cooper explores the way that race is represented by Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello, in this excerpt from her new book, The Great White Bard.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare's tutor: The influence of Thomas Kyd"
Learn more about authorship and influence among the playwrights of Shakespeare’s day in this excerpt from a recent book by Darren Freebury-Jones.
Excerpt: "King Lear: Shakespeare's Dark Consolations"
“King Lear is about insiders who with terrible suddenness are shoved outside, and what they learn or don’t learn from finding themselves positioned there,” writes Arthur Frank.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare and University Drama in Early Modern England" by Daniel Blank
Daniel Blank writes about Shakespeare’s presence within the early modern university sphere.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare without a Life" by Margreta de Grazia
Did Shakespeare give much thought to how his works would survive after his death? Margreta de Grazia argues that his sonnets show he did.
Excerpt: "Richard III's Bodies from Medieval England to Modernity"
The disabled body of Richard III, a historical English king and one of Shakespeare’s most iconic villains, is the focus of a recent book by Jeffrey R. Wilson.