Shakespeare and the Text

Shakespeare’s works were among the very first English secular texts to be edited. The long history of adapting them has positioned them as a catalyst for theories of editing and textuality. A Concise Companion to Shakespeare and the Text introduces the early editions, editing practices, and publishing history of Shakespeare’s plays and poems, and examines their influence on bibliographic studies as a whole.

Written by leading scholars in the field, this comprehensive text examines the history of Shakespeare’s works in their subsequent editions, as well as the theories and practicalities of working with the texts. The first single-volume book to provide an accessible and authoritative introduction to Shakespearean bibliographic studies, this succinct text is an excellent resource for both students and faculty.

Andrew Murphy is Professor of English at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (2003), the editor of The Renaissance Text: Theory, Editing, Textuality (2000), and co-editor of Shakespeare and Scotland (2004).