...the Works of William Shakespeare, in Reduced Facsimile from the Famous First Folio Edition of 1623

by William Shakespeare, James Orchard Halliwell-Philipps, John Heming

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Genres: Shakespeare, Classics, Drama, Literature, Plays, Poetry, Fiction

930 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1623

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Darwin8u · Rating 5 out of 5]

January:
1. Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589–1591) - January 1, 2017
2 The Taming of the Shrew (1590–1591) - January 5, 2017
3 Henry VI, Part 2 (1591) - February 1, 2017

February:
4 Henry VI, Part 3 (1591) - February 3, 2017
5 Henry VI, Part 1 (1591–1592) - January 21, 2017
6 Titus Andronicus (1591–1592) - February 9, 2017

March:
7 Richard III (1592–1593) - March 4, 2017
8. The Comedy of Errors (1594) - March 11, 2017
9. Love's Labour's Lost (1594–1595) - March 27, 2017

April:
10. Richard II (1595) - April 7, 2017
11. Romeo and Juliet (1595) - April 12, 2017
12. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595) - April 21, 2017

May:
13. King John (1596) - May 3, 2017
14. The Merchant of Venice (1596–1597) - May 8, 2017
15. Henry IV, Part 1 (1596-1597) - May 20, 2017

June:
16. The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597) - June 20, 2017
17. Henry IV, Part 2 (1597-1598) - June 24, 2017
18. Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599) - June 25, 2017

July:
19. Henry V (1599) - July 5, 2017
20. Julius Caesar (1599) - July 10, 2017
21. As You Like It (1599-1600) - July 26, 2017

August:
22. Hamlet (1600-1601)- August 12, 2017
23. Twelfth Night (1601) - August 15, 2017
24. Troilus and Cressida ((1600–1602) - August 29, 2017

September:
25. Measure for Measure (1603-1604) - September 6, 2017
26. Othello (1603-1604) - September 15, 2017
27. All's Well that Ends Well (1604-1605) - September 12, 2017

October:
28. King Lear (1605–1606) - October 19, 2017
29. Timon of Athens (1605–1606) - October 20, 2017
30. Macbeth (1606) - October 28, 2017

November:
31. Antony and Cleopatra (1606) - November 17, 2017
32. Coriolanus (1608) - November 23, 2017
33. The Winter's Tale (1609–1611) - November 25, 2017

December:
34. Cymbeline (1610) - December 11, 2017
35. The Tempest (1610–1611) - December 12, 2017
36. Henry VIII (1612–1613) - December 16, 2017

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no way you can consider yourself a lover of Shakespeare's works if you don't own a copy of the First Folio. Yes, it's a little tough to read at first because certain letters don't quite look the same now as they used to, however, as an actor performing in a Shakespearean play this is a must own. You can find so many clues in the first folio that are changed by modern editors... run (don't walk) to the nearest book store and buy this.

[emelie!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had the opportunity to read a real first folio during my time at acting school.

[Robert Paglia]

Love the 17th century spelling. As long as you don't need something with the original typography, this is great.

[Melanti]

A couple months back, I tackled Chaucer in the original and a couple of brief forays into an ebook edition with modernized spelling showed me that often the rhythm and rhymes were lost when you modernize the spelling, even if it's otherwise word-for-word identical.

That made me wonder what Shakespeare would be like with the original spelling, but the only Complete Works editions with original spelling that I could find were $150+, used. Way too expensive!

Then I happened across this edition at the store and just couldn't resist. It's not perfect - I really, really wanted the Sonnets, and this is only the First Folio plays - but I'll take what I can afford.

I'm putting this on my "Maybe Someday" list rather than my TBR, since it'll likely take me decades to finish working my way through all the plays - and I might not read them all from this edition anyway.

[David]

Though the plays themselves were not new, this was my first time reading a facsimile of the First Folio. It was very enjoyable for the most part--printing curiosities and variants notwithstanding--and quite interesting to see some of the spelling and diction common in the early 17th century. One example that sticks in the mind is wrassle--as in Charles, the Wrassler, of As You Like It--a usage that, to me, evokes the U.S. Western. My other favourite 'trip and fall while reading' moment in typography was the word "suck" (and any of its relatives) which shows up surprisingly often in Shakespeare and, in the folio, was always spelled with the 16th-17th-century long s ... which looks like an 'f' with no 'caret'/serif on the right hand side. Sucking amusing, that was.

[Ak Rockefeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite edition of Shakespeare's plays. You can hear so much more music in the words reading the original spelling, once you get the hang of it. But don't be deterred because it's not too difficult. This is no facsimile edition, with their photocopy feel and weird 17th-century typeface. This book has the original spelling in readable modern print. Otherwise, it's a faithful rendering of the First Folio, just more reader-friendly than your average facsimile. If you absolutely have loved Shakespeare for years already, but haven't endeavored an original spelling edition, this is the best place to start. It goes for about $50 on Amazon. Compared to other hardcover editions of Shakespeare's Complete Works;- Norton ($70), Arden ($55) Modern Library ($45), Pelican ($40), Oxford ($23);- it ain't too bad. Try it sometime in the future.

[Deborah]

An ongoing process...

[SiSApis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable.

[Anca Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many may find the Elizabethans' unusual spelling a hindrance to the works, but I find it a valuable feature -- strangely familiar, extraordinarily odd. Spelling was a fluid thing, and we can't even be sure these are the spellings that Shakespeare used. (This being the man who signed his name six different ways -- none of them the way we know it today.)

Despite that, I find the Elizabethan spelling fascinating. In particular, it helps you know how they pronounced the words. Yes, this book is only for the hardcore.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Shakespeare sooooooooooooooooo much. He is such an inspiration. When I was three I saw "A Midsummer's Nights Dream" and I left the theatre comparing it to Peter Pan. I guess Shakespeare and I have always had a special connection. I dressed up as him in a project for school. I even took Shakespeare classes with Kate Hennig in her dressing while I was doing Billy Elliot. Two of my goals in life are to read every single Shakespeare play and play Romeo before I die. It is so cool to think Shakespeare's works have lasted for over four hundred years. Shakespeare is amazing and i am sooooooooooooooooooo glad i have this wonderful piece of classic literature.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, easier than choosing them one by one (a note anyone inclined to get me stuff - I don't actually own this Applause edition, just a facsimile folio, which is lovely but of course unreadable.)

NB: The date has more to do with when they started making sense than when I first encountered or finally read any of them.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gorgeous fascimile, driven by that luminary of Folio studies, Charlton Hinman. (Unless you're a collector, the Second Edition is a better investment than the first, since the updated introduction acknowledges some of the lapses in Hinman's intro from the 1960s due to knowledge gained since then.)

A thing of beauty.

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading all his plays and sonnets..some way more than others...for the plays The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and especially A Midsummers Night dream I rated it 5 stars....

[Cory Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I don't have five to seven million dollars laying around, this facsimile of the famous First Folio is the next best thing. A really beautifully done piece of work, this is the closest a reader can get to experiencing the work of Shakespeare as it appeared in publication in 1623.

[Raymond Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another edition that will not burn a very big hole in your pocket is this facsimile edition of the First Folio of Shakespeare. However, this is also a photographic facsimile and does not even look like the original First Folios in the vault of the Folger library.

[Iliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll get there eventually...I'm only halfway there

[Nathan Rostron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy can really write!

[Paul Natsuo Kishimoto]

Undated black hardcover Abbey Library edition with no dust jacket or ISBN. "Printed in Romania."

[Robert Paglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reproductions of the original 17th century pages is fascinating. A beautifully bound book. Very expensive. For hardcore Shakespeare aficionados and antique book lovers.