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Off the shelf

Book excerpts, reviews, author interviews, and reading recommendations
Simon Russell Beale on Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Titus
Shakespeare Unlimited

Simon Russell Beale on Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Titus

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Called “the finest actor of his generation,” Beale has played just about everyone in Shakespeare’s canon. He reflects on the roles that have shaped his career and how his approach has evolved over time.

Shakespeare's queer inspiration
Shakespeare and Beyond

Shakespeare's queer inspiration

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

In an excerpt from Straight Acting, Will Tosh tells the story of Richard Barnfield’s meteoric rise in literary London in the 1590s and how his groundbreaking poetry influenced Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke
Shakespeare Unlimited

Shakespeare’s Boy Player Alexander Cooke

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In Shakespeare’s time, women onstage were played by boys, and for those boy players, fame could be fleeting. Nicole Galland’s novel Boy follows Alexander “Sander” Cooke, a real-life actor in Shakespeare’s company.

2025 summer reading guide
Shakespeare and Beyond

2025 summer reading guide

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Summer’s a great time for reading, whether it’s at the beach or in your backyard. Explore our list of fiction and non-fiction titles about Shakespeare and his world featured on Folger blogs, podcast interviews, and our book club.

Imagining Shakespeare’s actor Alexander Cooke
Shakespeare and Beyond

Imagining Shakespeare’s actor Alexander Cooke

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor travels back to Elizabethan England with Nicole Galland’s novel Boy about Shakespeare’s acting company member Alexander Cooke in a surprisingly contemporary exploration of gender roles onstage and off.

Juliet and Romeo as a Western
Shakespeare and Beyond

Juliet and Romeo as a Western

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Author Anthony Del Col shares how the newest Kill Shakespeare adventure found its inspiration in Westerns like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Teaching the Dream, sweet and bitter
Shakespeare and Beyond

Teaching the Dream, sweet and bitter

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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.

The Women Who Served the Queens of Henry VIII
Shakespeare and Beyond

The Women Who Served the Queens of Henry VIII

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Who were the ladies-in-waiting to each of Henry VIII’s six wives and what were their lives like? An excerpt from Nicola Clark’s The Waiting Game looks at these overlooked but influential figures.

Humans and monsters
Shakespeare and Beyond

Humans and monsters

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In Humans: A Monstrous History, Surekha Davies shows how our multi-millennial relationship with monsters has shaped the origins of the modern world and ideas about humanness and otherness.

Books for Shakespeare fans
Shakespeare and Beyond

Books for Shakespeare fans

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

2024 has been a great year for new books about—and inspired by—Shakespeare. Explore our list for gift giving or adding to your own TBR list.

The Lead-Up to Shakespeare’s Richard II
Shakespeare and Beyond

The Lead-Up to Shakespeare’s Richard II

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

In an excerpt from The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, historian Helen Castor travels back in time to the weeks just before Shakespeare’s play begins.

“That holy feeling”: Al Pacino on looking for Shakespeare
Shakespeare and Beyond

“That holy feeling”: Al Pacino on looking for Shakespeare

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Author
Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor takes a look at Al Pacino’s new memoir, Sonny Boy. Pacino describes how central Shakespeare was to his development as a young actor.

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