Shakespeare's ‘Lady Editors'

This groundbreaking work uncovers the hidden history of women who shaped Shakespeare's editorial tradition, challenging the long-accepted narrative that only privileged men determined the canonical versions of his plays. Yarn meticulously documents how female scholars, often working without institutional support or public recognition, made substantial contributions to textual analysis and editorial practices that were systematically erased from the official record. The book reveals how these "lady editors" developed innovative approaches to Shakespeare's texts while navigating professional exclusion and gender bias in academic circles.

What makes this study particularly compelling is its recovery of specific editorial methodologies these women pioneered, from new forms of textual criticism to reader-focused annotations that democratized Shakespeare for broader audiences. Literary scholars and students of Shakespeare will find essential perspectives here, while anyone interested in feminist historiography will appreciate how Yarn reconstructs these erased intellectual lineages. The book fundamentally reshapes our understanding of who gets to define literary canon and how knowledge production operates within and against established power structures.