Shakespeare's Early Readers

A scholarly examination of how Shakespeare's plays and poetry were actually read and engaged with during the crucial first two centuries after their creation, this work delves into rare and often unpublished archival material. It offers a fresh perspective on the Bard's ascent to literary immortality by shifting the focus from the stage to the reader's study, meticulously reconstructing the early reception of his printed works.

By analyzing marginalia, commonplace books, and other traces left by early modern readers, the author provides a fascinating, ground-level view of how Shakespeare's texts were interpreted, used, and valued by his contemporaries and those who followed. This academic study will primarily interest scholars, graduate students, and serious enthusiasts of Shakespearean bibliography and the history of the book, offering a significant reconsideration of the reader's role in shaping a literary legacy.