Off the shelf
Sebastian and Antonio's hidden queer lives
In an excerpt from Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare, Will Tosh uses lines from Twelfth Night to trace Sebastian and Antonio’s relationship.
The roles of the river in early modern times
An excerpt from Reading the River in Shakespeare’s Britain surveys some of the cultural roles of rivers, including how Shakespeare mentioned them in his plays.
A real-life lawsuit over failed magic
Tabitha Stanmore tells the story of a 15th-century widow hiring a magic practitioner in this excerpt from her book “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic.”
A Midsummer milestone for Tina Packer and Shakespeare & Company
Revisit Shakespeare & Company’s 1978 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with this excerpt from Katharine Goodland’s book on Shakespeare productions directed by Tina Packer.
New ideas for summer reading
Explore great Shakespeare-related ideas for summer reading from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s online book club, blogs, and podcast.
A memorable Macbeth: Setting the Scottish play in 19th-century Haiti
Read about the 1936 “voodoo Macbeth” in this excerpt from The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War by James Shapiro.
How do Shakespeare’s characters react when they lose family or love?
Stephen Greenblatt explores this question in this excerpt from Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud, a book co-authored with Adam Phillips.
Judi Dench's take on Viola in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
What’s going through Viola’s head as she woos Olivia on Orsino’s behalf? Dame Judi Dench reflects on this key scene in this excerpt from her newly published book.
The African Company and Black Shakespeare in 1820s New York
Joyce Green MacDonald is the author of this excerpt from The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race, a collection of essays edited by Patricia Akhimie.
Excerpt: "Shakespeare's House"
“When it came to Elizabethan furniture, you could never be completely certain that it wasn’t bewitched,” writes Richard Schoch.
The education of Henry VIII
How did Henry VIII’s childhood and education help shape him into the king he would become? This excerpt from Hunting the Falcon offers some intriguing insights.
A witty Fool and foolish wit: Christopher Moore’s Pocket Chronicles
Austin Tichenor writes about Christopher Moore’s trio of comic novels, which follow the fool from King Lear as he interacts with other Shakespeare characters.