Will and Jane go to war
During World War I, the works of Shakespeare and Austen reached American troops on active duty through the American Library Association’s “War Service Library” program. Between 1917 and 1920, the program collected donations of used books to help them distribute…
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,…
11 actors who have played Shakespeare and Austen roles
If you’re a fan of both Shakespeare and Jane Austen, you may have noticed some overlap in the actors who portray these classic roles in stage productions and film adaptations. As the curators of the Folger exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare,…
Quiz: Can you pair these Jane Austen and Shakespeare characters?
Take this quiz and test your knowledge of Jane Austen and Shakespeare! We give you a character from a Jane Austen novel, and you pick the corresponding character from Shakespeare’s plays, based on personality or storyline. Can you pair these Shakespeare…
Will and Jane continued: adaptations, modernizations, and fan fiction
Although the Bard may have a longer history of such flattery, both Will and Jane have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous adaptations. In the 20th century, Austen joined Shakespeare in his entrance into modern media—film, television, and digital forms—as…
Collecting Will and Jane
One of the stories told by the current exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity is that literary renown is as much about commodities as about books. Literary celebrity transforms authors into objects. Our exhibition traces…
Jane Austen's Shakespeare
Jane Austen, who was born in 1775, came of age in the 1790s and started publishing in the 1810s; her first novel, Sense and Sensibility, came out in 1811. She died in 1817, which makes 2017 the 200th anniversary of…
Reading ahead for "Will & Jane"
As you’ve seen on this blog already, the next Folger exhibition, Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity (August 6 to November 6), will be a fascinating look at the posthumous celebrities of William Shakespeare and Jane…
From Hero to Lady Susan: Kate Beckinsale in 'Love & Friendship'
As curators of the upcoming exhibition Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity opening at the Folger on August 6, we could not help viewing the new Austen film Love & Friendship through a Shakespearean lens—and with…