Research and discovery

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles between the lines of her correspondence. 57 recently decoded letters show the human and political costs of Mary’s captivity.

Before Shakespeare became a household name, there was Richard Burbage, the first actor to play Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. Scholar Siobhan Keenan examines his remarkable career and lasting impact on early modern theater.

250 years after her birth, Jane Austen’s appeal endures. Scholar Patricia A. Matthew discusses editing three Austen novels and how new research on Caribbean sugar plantations expands our view of the Regency era.

How did early modern England perceive race? Patricia Akhimie, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race, and contributing writers Dennis Britton and Kirsten Mendoza examine race, gender, and power in Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

We take a look at how research happens at the Folger, from Folger Institute fellowships to the chairs in our Reading Room.