Shakespeare's Library
Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The quest to find Shakespeare’s personal library—one of literature’s most enduring enigmas—is at the heart of this “enchanting work that bibliophiles will savor and Shakespeare fans adore” (Kirkus Reviews).
Millions of words of scholarship have been expended on the world’s most famous author and his work. And yet a critical part of the puzzle, Shakespeare’s library, is a mystery. For four centuries people have searched for it: in mansions, palaces and libraries; in riverbeds, sheep pens and partridge coops; and in the corridors of the mind. Yet no trace of the bard’s manuscripts, books or letters has ever been found.
The search for Shakespeare’s library is much more than a treasure hunt. Knowing what the Bard read informs our reading of his work, and it offers insight into the mythos of Shakespeare and the debate around authorship. The library’s fate has profound implications for literature, for national and cultural identity, and for the global Shakespeare industry. It bears on fundamental principles of art, identity, history, meaning and truth.
Unfolding the search like the mystery story that it is, acclaimed author Stuart Kells follows the trail of the hunters, taking us through different conceptions of the library and of the man himself. Entertaining and enlightening, Shakespeare’s Library is a captivating exploration of one of literature’s most enduring enigmas.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Kells (The Library) delivers a fascinating examination of a persistent literary mystery: William Shakespeare's library. Through careful research, Kells constructs a narrative around the centuries-long search for this elusive holy grail for scholars, interwoven with anecdotes of the author's roguish escapades and comments on the ongoing debate about the Shakespeare oeuvre's true authorship. Citing records and studies from the 16th century to the modern day, Kells discusses various potential clues uncovered by scholars, such as a 1570 Bible filled with "more than a thousand underlinings and notes," many relevant to Shakespeare plays. In addition, Kells includes his own interpretations of what can be gleaned from Shakespeare's writing, such as the playwright's "close familiarity with the physicality of books and the mechanics of their production." He also relies heavily on the legwork of John Fry, a 19th-century bookseller whose efforts uncovered many primary sources for the plays, such as the manual Practice of the Use of the Rapier and Dagger; and the Honor of Honorable Quarrels (stabbing, Kells notes, is "the principal cause of death" for Shakespearean characters). Shakespeare fans will surely be riveted by the new information brought to light in Kells's rich literary survey.
