Description
Shakespeare and the Book is a lively and learned account of Shakespeare's plays as they were transformed from scripts to be performed into books to be read, and eventually from popular entertainments into the centerpieces of the English literary canon. Kastan examines the motives and activities of Shakespeare's first publishers, the curious eighteenth-century schizophrenia that saw Shakespeare radically modified on stage at the very moment that scholars were working to establish and restore the 'genuine' texts, and the exhilarating possibilities of electronic media for presenting Shakespeare now to new generations of readers. This is an important contribution to Shakespearean textual scholarship, to the history of the early English book trade, and to the theory of drama itself. Shakespeare and the Book persuades its readers of the resiliency of the book itself as a technology and of Shakespeare's own extraordinary resiliency that has been made possible not least by print.
An account of Shakespeare's plays as they were transformed from scripts into books.
About the Author
David Scott Kastan is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is a specialist on Shakespeare and early modern culture. His most recent book is Shakespeare After Theory (1999) and his other publications include Shakespeare and the Shapes of Time (1981), Staging the Renaissance (1991, edited with Peter Stallybrass), Critical Essays on Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (1995), The New History of Early English Drama (1997, edited with John Cox, and winner of the 1998 ATHE award for the best book on theatre history), and A Companion to Shakespeare (1999).
Reviews
'... a concise and very readable account ... a very rewarding read.' Shakespeare at the Centre
'Shakespeare and the Book is a joy to read. It is lucid, clear, and often humorous, and it takes us effortlessly through the story of Shakespeare's plays in print.' Shakespeare's Globe
'David Scott Kastan's travels through the history of Shakespeare's ghostly textual presence will inform the neophyte, provoke the expert, and entertain all.' Notes & Queries
Book Information
ISBN 9780521786515
Author David Scott Kastan
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 298g
Dimensions(mm) 217mm * 139mm * 12mm
An account of Shakespeare's plays as they were transformed from scripts into books.
About the Author
David Scott Kastan is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is a specialist on Shakespeare and early modern culture. His most recent book is Shakespeare After Theory (1999) and his other publications include Shakespeare and the Shapes of Time (1981), Staging the Renaissance (1991, edited with Peter Stallybrass), Critical Essays on Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (1995), The New History of Early English Drama (1997, edited with John Cox, and winner of the 1998 ATHE award for the best book on theatre history), and A Companion to Shakespeare (1999).
Reviews
'... a concise and very readable account ... a very rewarding read.' Shakespeare at the Centre
'Shakespeare and the Book is a joy to read. It is lucid, clear, and often humorous, and it takes us effortlessly through the story of Shakespeare's plays in print.' Shakespeare's Globe
'David Scott Kastan's travels through the history of Shakespeare's ghostly textual presence will inform the neophyte, provoke the expert, and entertain all.' Notes & Queries
Book Information
ISBN 9780521786515
Author David Scott Kastan
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 298g
Dimensions(mm) 217mm * 139mm * 12mm
