Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - Shakespeare and Renaissance Drama series

Originally published in 1808, this anthology of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama compiled by Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was highly acclaimed. Reissued here is the expanded two-volume edition of 1835. Volume 1 includes extracts from such theatrical hits as Tamburlaine and Volpone, alongside little-known gems by Greville, Peele and Brewer.

Shakespeare's heroines had been critiqued primarily by men until Anna Jameson published Characteristics of Women in 1832. In this remarkable two-volume study, she analysed twenty-three of Shakespeare's female leads from a woman's perspective. This reissue will be welcomed by scholars of nineteenth-century literary criticism and women's studies.

This 1769 work is a spirited defence of Shakespeare against the criticism of Voltaire, who claimed that his work was inferior to that of modern French dramatists. Voltaire is especially condemned for his efforts to measure Shakespeare against Corneille using an inadequate French translation of the English dramatist's work.

This is the first of three volumes of Shakespeare's plays compiled and edited by Howard Staunton, originally published in 1858 and acclaimed for their combination of meticulous research and common sense. The text is embellished by numerous handsome black-and-white illustrations by John Gilbert and accompanied by critical notes.

This edition tells the story of Hamlet in production, from Burbage at the Globe to Branagh on film, relating stage interpretations to developments in the theatre, literary criticism and society. The introduction focuses on whole productions of the play including supporting players and, in this century, direction and design.

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary.

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This is the third New Cambridge edition of The Taming of the Shrew, one of Shakespeare's most popular yet controversial plays. Ann Thompson considers its reception in the light of the hostility and embarrassment that the play often arouses, taking account of both scholarly defences and modern feminist criticism. For this version the editor pays lively attention to the problematic nature of debates about the play and its reception in the twenty-first century. She discusses recent editions and textual, performance and critical studies.

Sir Sidney Lee (1859-1926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare. This biography, first published in 1898, was an immediate popular success and was regarded for much of the twentieth century as the most reliable account of Shakespeare's life then available.

The greatest actor of his day, Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) thrilled audiences with his tragedy and melodrama, most famously at the Lyceum Theatre in London. This engaging two-volume tribute by his closest friend and business manager, Dracula author Bram Stoker (1847-1912), was first published in 1906.

Literary scholar Mary Cowden Clarke (1809-98), daughter of the music publisher Vincent Novello, had a lifelong love of Shakespeare. Her magnum opus, which took twelve years to prepare, was first published in book form in 1845 and remained a standard work on Shakespearean vocabulary for half a century.

Remembered for both his satirical and serious work, Robert Barnabas Brough (1828-60) was a playwright, journalist and poet. This delightful fictional biography of that most colourful of Shakespeare's characters, first published in 1858, is built around a series of inspired etchings by the celebrated artist George Cruikshank (1792-1878).

Edward, first Baron Herbert of Cherbury (1582?-1648) served as a diplomat and wrote philosophical, poetical and historical works. His colourful account of his adventures up to 1624 was first published by Horace Walpole in 1764. For this 1886 limited edition, literary scholar Sidney Lee (1859-1926) has completed the life.

Originally published in 1808, this anthology of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama compiled by Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was highly acclaimed. Reissued here is the expanded two-volume edition of 1835. Including extracts from Kyd, Marlowe, Jonson, Massinger, Fletcher and Shirley, among others, these volumes remain a rich resource for literature students.

First published in 1883, this classic study sets in context the animal lore of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Drawing on a range of compelling sources, Emma Phipson explores the writings and beliefs about natural science that influenced the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

Originally published in 1808, this anthology of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama compiled by Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was highly acclaimed. Reissued here is the expanded two-volume edition of 1835. Volume 2 includes extracts by Fletcher and Massinger, alongside scenes from a host of seventeenth-century plays by lesser-known authors.