On May 2, 2024 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of The East Indian by Brinda Charry. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and America’s early colonization.
READ the Shakespeare play referenced throughout novel
EXPLORE the play’s connection to trade and early globilization
- ‘In the spiced Indian air’: Trading coin and cloth in the empire of the Great Mughal
- Shakespeare’s Asia: Ships, spices, and porcelain
- written by Su Fang Ng, May’s guest speaker
- “More strange than true”: Finding America among the fairies
LISTEN to podcast episodes related to colonial history and impact
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program

Join us for a future event
On View: Elise Ansel

On View: Elise Ansel
Artist Elise Ansel uses a feminist framework to reinterpret Henry Fuseli’s Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head (1793), held in the Folger collection.
Fri, Oct 3 – Sun, Nov 9, 2025
Folger Book Club: 'A Haunting on the Hill' by Elizabeth Hand

Folger Book Club: 'A Haunting on the Hill' by Elizabeth Hand
Our October 2025 selection takes a trip to Shirley Jackson’s infamous Hill House, where four theater-makers are attempting to adapt a Jacobean witchcraft play under unique conditions…
Thu, Oct 9, 2025, 6:30pm
Gallery Talk: Elise Ansel

Gallery Talk: Elise Ansel
Explore a feminist take on the history of Halloween’s most essential themes in this gallery talk with Elise Ansel as part of "Contemporary Art at the Folger," a rotating series that showcases the work of Folger Artist Fellows.
Fri, Oct 10, 2025, at 6:30pm
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