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Published in 1866, this is a meticulous, encyclopaedic listing of almost every word, place and character in Shakespeare's works. A must-have for every student of English literature, it is also an unparalleled guide for those left in the dark by Shakespearean English. James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1820-1889), a renowned scholar, antiquarian, and collector of books on Shakespeare, provided entries for even the manners, customs and proverbs of the Bard's time. Despite the author's disclaimer about some of the 'hastily' prepared entries, the Index remains a monumental scholarly feat of the late nineteenth century. Halliwell not only cross-referenced every entry with the play it appeared in, but also included a list of actors who originally performed in the plays, together with locations and plot sources. With over 5000 annotated references, A Shakespeare Index is still one of the most practical and instructive guides to understanding Shakespearean English.

A detailed account by the secretary to the festival committee of the extensive Tercentenary celebrations of Shakespeare's birth held in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1864. The jubilee, inspired by Garrick's of 1769, included performances of several of the plays in a specially built pavilion on the Paddock in Southern Lane. There was also a banquet, a ball, fireworks, church services, a pageant and several concerts. Planning was fraught with difficulties and disagreements such as the committee's refusal to provide the pageant (organised in the end by the townsfolk) and walked a financial tightrope. The event nevertheless was a success and paved the way for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, opened in 1879. A short biography of the playwright, with an assessment of previous biographies, a topographical narrative of the town and description of the three previous jubilees held there (especially Garrick's) provide context and the perspective of the time.

For four centuries Twelfth Night has inspired theatre directors and performers. Surveying a dazzling range of Twelfth Night productions - including many significant productions which have not received due critical attention previously - Schafer provides the reader with an indispensable stage history of this popular play, from its first performance to today.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries and textual notes on the plays and poems. Introductions are regularly refreshed with accounts of new critical, stage and screen interpretations. This second edition of Othello retains the text and Introduction prepared by Norman Sanders and features a new section by Scott McMillin on recent scholarship and key performances of the play since the 1980s. Building on the full and well-illustrated stage history compiled by Sanders, McMillin focuses on political, feminist and postcolonial treatments of Othello in various parts of the world and discusses important performances on stage, film and television. Sanders' discussion of the stylistic and racial problems facing modern readers and spectators is complemented by McMillin who explores the influence of new historicism and cultural materialism and the issue of black/white casting of the main characters.

As You Like It has sometimes seemed a subversive play that exposes the instability of gender roles and traditional values. In other eras it has been prized - or derided - as a reliable celebration of conventional social mores. The play's ability to encompass these extremes tells an interesting story about changing cultural and theatrical practices. This edition provides a detailed history of the play in production, both on stage and on screen. The introduction examines how changing conceptions of gender roles have affected the portrayal of Rosalind, one of Shakespeare's greatest comic heroines. The striking differences between the British tradition and the freer treatment the play has received abroad are discussed, as well as the politics of court versus country. The commentary, printed alongside the New Cambridge Shakespeare edition of the text, draws on primary sources to illuminate how costuming, stage business, design, and directorial choices have shaped the play in performance.

John Dover Wilson's New Shakespeare, published between 1921 and 1966, became the classic Cambridge edition of Shakespeare's plays and poems until the 1980s. The series, long since out-of-print, is now reissued. Each work contains a lengthy and lively introduction, main text, and substantial notes and glossary.

The third edition of Hamlet offers a completely new introduction to this rich, mysterious play. Supplemented by an updated reading list, extensive illustrations and helpful appendices, this edition features revised commentary notes explicitly designed for the student reader, offering the very best in contemporary criticism of this great tragedy.

These 1837 reminiscences of Bristol bookseller Joseph Cottle (1770-1853), publisher of the Lyrical Ballads in 1798, have been described as 'unreliable but essential'. They contain evasions and distortions, but are valuable for their account of vital years in the lives of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey and William Wordsworth.

On the death of Edward Gibbon (1737-94), his unpublished papers were left to his friend John Baker Holroyd, first earl of Sheffield, who published them in two volumes in 1796. Volume 1 contains a biography, compiled by Sheffield from Gibbon's six autobiographical manuscripts and some of his letters.

This two-volume edition of some of Anna Laetitia Barbauld's poems and prose works, compiled by her niece Lucy Aikin, was published soon after her death in 1825. Volume 1 contains a short biography and a selection of poems in many genres, including a comic description of Joseph Priestley's study.

This two-volume biography, first published in 1780 and reissued here in the second edition of the same year, explores the life and times of the most important actor of his age, who as theatre manager at Drury Lane shaped the repertoire of the London stage. Volume 1 covers the years 1717-63.

In this two-volume work of 1869, Teresa Guiccioli (1800-73), who was nineteen when she first met Byron in Venice and became his mistress, attempts to restore the poet's reputation, which she believed to be tainted by a conflation in the public mind between Byron and his more notorious characters.

This two-volume biography of William Wordsworth was published in 1851 by his nephew, Christopher, a scholar and cleric who later became bishop of Lincoln. Volume 1, beginning with an autobiographical sketch by the poet, describes his early years, his travels abroad, and his growing fame, and continues to 1810.

These two volumes of the letters of Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729), founder of the Tatler and the Spectator, were compiled by the publisher John Nichols and published in 1809. In Volume 1, many of the letters are addressed to his second wife, others to literary and political friends.

In this nine-volume work, published between 1812 and 1815, the author and publisher John Nichols (1745-1826) provides biographical notes on publishers, writers and artists of the eighteenth century, and also gives 'an incidental view of the progress and advancement of literature in this kingdom during the last century'.

One of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era, Anthony Trollope (1815-82) requested that his autobiography be published posthumously. The two-volume work, which first appeared in 1883, provides an insight into not only his writing methods and incredible discipline, but also the early experiences which influenced his fiction.

Published in 1855 and reissued here in the second edition of that year, this two-volume work celebrates the life of the author and wit Sydney Smith (1771-1845). His daughter Saba Holland (1802-66) offers private insights into a man who lived much of his life in the public eye.

One of the most popular writers of his age, outsold only by Dickens, Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803-73), first Baron Lytton, notably coined the phrases 'the great unwashed' and 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. This two-volume collection, posthumously published in 1883, illuminates a prolific literary life.

This four-volume edition of the letters of Mrs Elizabeth Montagu was edited by her nephew and adopted son Matthew (1762-1831) and published in 1809-13. Volume 1 begins with a short biography, and covers the period from her earliest preserved letter, written in 1732, up to 1741.

First published in 1908, this two-volume collection was prepared by journalist, critic and Bronte enthusiast Clement King Shorter (1857-1926). Building on Elizabeth Gaskell's research, the volumes document through correspondence the remarkable careers of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. Previously unpublished manuscripts and letters broadened the scope of the work.

Samuel Johnson (1709-84), one of the most celebrated individuals of English literature, and Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741-1821), an unconventional woman of great intellectual vivacity, were close friends. First published in two volumes in 1788, these letters offer an illuminating and intimate glimpse into their daily lives and concerns.

The writer and society hostess Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741-1821) is best remembered as a friend and biographer of Samuel Johnson. This enlarged second edition of her autobiographical writings, edited by the essayist Abraham Hayward (1801-84) and incorporating correspondence, marginalia and poetry, was published in 1861.

Inspired by 'gratitude to the actor and duty to the public, to perpetuate the character of excellence, and afford models for imitation to future artists', this two-volume 1827 biography of acclaimed tragedian Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) fed popular obsession with theatrical anecdote and criticism in an age of transformation for the English stage.

According to poet and critic Anna Seward (1742-1809), a letter unanswered resembled an 'unexpiated sin'. Her correspondence was vast: she wrote to James Boswell, Walter Scott and George Washington, among many others. This six-volume selection, first published in 1811, offers readers and researchers a wealth of Romantic literary criticism.

First published between 1853 and 1856, this eight-volume collection of memoirs, diaries and letters provides rare insights into the Irish poet and patriot Thomas Moore (1779-1852). Volume 1 contains Moore's own memoir and correspondence from 1793 to 1813.

In this two-volume memoir of 1906, William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) provides an unparalleled glimpse into the dynamics of the Rossetti family, dealing with his own childhood and that of his siblings, the genesis of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and friendships with many outstanding cultural figures of the Victorian age.

John Oxenford (1812-77) was a playwright, critic and gifted translator. His two-volume translation of the autobiography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) first appeared in 1848-9. Among the greatest literary figures of his day, Goethe recounts here the sorrows, passions and achievements of his life.

As son-in-law and literary executor to Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854) was uniquely placed to produce a definitive biography of the great poet and novelist. This celebrated seven-volume work, published in 1837-8, is based on personal memories, correspondence, and Scott's own autobiographical sketches.

The poet, designer, translator and socialist William Morris (1834-96) produced a prodigious variety of work in his lifetime. These 24 volumes, edited by his daughter May and published between 1910 and 1915, reveal the development and scope of this Victorian polymath's literary, aesthetic and political passions.

The Tatler (published 1709-11) is usually regarded as the first periodical publication in England. Its founder, Richard Steele (1672-1729), intended a paper which would report on news and gossip but not politics. This four-volume edition was first issued in 1797 by a consortium of publishers, including John Nichols.