The disappearance of Elizabeth Boyd in the history of Shakespeare’s Westminster Abbey monument
Elizabeth Boyd, a forgotten 18th-century playwright, probably played an important role in the idea for the monument of Shakespeare in Westminster Abbey.
Excerpt: What Blest Genius? The Jubilee That Made Shakespeare
This new book by Andrew McConnell Stott is about David Garrick and the Shakespeare Jubilee of 1769 in Stratford-upon-Avon.
What turns a good writer into a superstar? 200 years and plenty of spectacle
In commemoration of the approximate 200th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, the London actor and theatrical entrepreneur David Garrick launched the first celebration of Shakespeare as “the god of our idolatry” in 1769, helping to fashion the Bard as the larger-than-life,…
Repetition is celebrity: Shakespeare and Austen
As curators of Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity we both began our work in the archives with established interests in the connections between literary greatness and consumer culture. Janine has written about the marketing tactics…
David Garrick and the cult of bardolatry
David Garrick and George Anne Bellamy in Romeo and Juliet. Based on a painting by Benjamn Wilson engraved by Ravenet. Enamel, ca. 1765. Folger Shakespeare Library. The leading actor-manager of the 1700s, David Garrick revolutionized English theatre with a lively,…