Book excerpts

Jane Austen wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers yet little is known of them today. In Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney recreates what Jane read. In this excerpt, we learn how the project began.

Food historian Sam Bilton thinks the savory, meat-filled mince pie is due for a comeback. She shares her recipe from Much Ado About Cooking, produced with Shakespeare’s Globe, for mince pies made with lamb and spiced with cloves and mace.

Shakespeare’s era was abuzz with mathematical progress. Rob Eastaway uncovers the many surprising ways math shaped Shakespeare’s plays―and his world―in an excerpt from his book, Much Ado About Numbers.

The Theatre, London’s first purpose-built commercial playhouse, was designed for making two things: money and plays. In an excerpt from scholar Daniel Swift’s book, both were of interest to Shakespeare, who learned his craft there.

In an excerpt from We Did OK, Kid, Hopkins talks about the fateful Saturday night as a boy when he saw Olivier’s 1948 adaptation of Hamlet and the film sparked a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.

Following the extraordinary success of Tamburlaine, might the theatrical impresario Philip Henslowe have brought Marlowe together with Shakespeare to write about the Wars of the Roses? An excerpt from Dark Renaissance by Stephen Greenblatt.

A century after Shakespeare’s death, the Shakespeare Ladies Club ensured his original plays were not forgotten. The quarter discussed his plays, convinced theaters to produce them, and even campaigned for his statue in Westminster Abbey.

In an excerpt from Siobhan Keenan’s new biography of actor Richard Burbage, we look at his rise to fame as Shakespeare’s Richard III.

In an excerpt from scholar Graham Watson’s groundbreaking new book, we meet 19th-century Bronte biographer Elizabeth Gaskell as she discovers the real author of Jane Eyre.

Julie Hammonds’ heartwarming novel takes readers backstage at a Shakespeare festival staging Hamlet to save its fortunes. In this excerpt, we meet the cast on the first day of rehearsal.

Kathryn Vomero Santos explores an intriguing reference to Henry IV, Part 1 in Korean American author Chang-rae Lee’s novel Native Speaker.

How can A Midsummer Night’s Dream speak to students today? Scholar Gail Kern Paster writes that the 400-year-old play connects to a wide range of contemporary issues that 21st-century audiences care about.