On December 14, 2023 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to families in Shakespeare’s work and the Folger collection.
EXPLORE early modern family dynamics
- Aphorism therapy, or, How to cope with dishonest relatives
- Wooing and Wedding: Courtship and Marriage in Early Modern England
LEARN more about how family history can be traced
- Folger copy 54: The First Folio as family scrapbook
- Where do family trees come from?
- Symbols of Honor: Heraldry and Family History in Shakespeare’s England (Folger Exhibition)
LISTEN to related podcast episodes, including on Shakespeare’s own family relationships
- Episode 60: Shakespeare and Girlhood
- Episode 105: Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife
- Episode 150: Maggie O’Farrell on Hamnet
- Episode 180: Lena Cowen Orlin on The Private Life of William Shakespeare
TEST your knowledge of families in Shakespeare plays
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
Join us for a future event
Printing Press Demonstrations
Printing Press Demonstrations
Please note that our October printing press demonstrations have been canceled. To learn more about our replica 17th-century printing press and to see it in action, join us for future demonstrations.
Second Saturdays, 1:30pm & 3pm
Inventing the Icon: How Shakespeare Became "Shakespeare"
Inventing the Icon: How Shakespeare Became "Shakespeare"
Teachers, join us for a free, one-hour professional development session with Shakespeare scholar Paul Menzer.
Wed, Oct 14, 2026, 8pm ET
To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare
To Hear Her Speak: Black Women and Shakespeare
This landmark exhibition explores the histories of Black women in Shakespearean performance and highlights the ways in which Black women have engaged Shakespeare’s language, stories, and characters in their work.
Oct 16, 2026 – May 2, 2027
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