Shakespeare & Beyond

“Fools and Mortals,” a new novel from New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, tells the story of the first production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Elizabethan England, from the perspective of William Shakespeare’s younger brother Richard.

It’s been a busy year on the Shakespeare & Beyond blog. These were the top five blog posts of 2017, from a pumpkin pie recipe to a quiz about props.

The most popular podcast episode was about attributing Christopher Marlowe as co-author for the “Henry VI” plays and how scholars make that decision.

Take a look at our five most popular #FolgerFinds posts on Instagram, from early modern eclipses to the first edition of Shakespeare’s “Richard III.”

This excerpt from “London’s Triumph” by Stephen Alford looks at the Elizabethan understanding of usury, seen through Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.”

Editing Shakespeare’s works is a complex process, explains Barbara Mowat, who with Paul Werstine edited the Folger Shakespeare Library editions.

We’ve got five Shakespeare-themed Christmas gift ideas for you, selected from the Folger shop and all under $20, from games to artwork and more.

Families share Shakespeare together in so many ways, such as watching his plays, quoting familiar lines, or throwing a Shakespeare birthday party.

Every month, we share a snapshot of Shakespeare in performance around America. Let’s check in with our theater partners with Shakespeare plays onstage in November and December.

Shakespeare’s plays are full of battles dominated by men, but one of his most compelling speeches about the life of a soldier comes from a woman: Lady Percy in Henry IV, Part 1, speaking to her husband, Hotspur.

When Hamlet first encounters his father’s ghost, the Danish prince’s reactions reflect Shakespeare’s understanding of the theological differences between early modern Catholics and Protestants regarding the spiritual realm, says David Scott Kastan.

In “Dunbar,” a new novel by Edward St. Aubyn that retells the Shakespeare play “King Lear,” Henry Dunbar makes the mistake of handing over control of his global corporation to his eldest daughters, who bribe a doctor to declare him…