Richard II

This facsimile edition of Richard II is taken from the large and handsome book known simply as the ‘First Folio’. This is the earliest collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays and was was printed in 1623, just seven years after his death.


For students of Richard II, going back to these First Folio plays is an essential part of a more complete understanding of Shakespeare's work.


Eighteen of Shakespeare’s plays had already been published in the small, cheap format known as quartos during his lifetime, including such favourites as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. The First Folio added another eighteen, including Macbeth, The Tempest and Twelfth Night all of which are indispensable to the modern repertory. Without the First Folio only half of Shakespeare’s dramatic output would have survived.


Richard II is one of Shakespeare's history plays and is part of the body of work that includes Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V. All of these plays used Holinshed's 'Chronicles' as a key source. The play was written in about 1595.


This is an eBookTreasures facsimile edition.