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Shakespeare & Beyond

Excerpt - "Ghosts, Holes, Rips and Scrapes: Shakespeare in 1619, Bibliography in the Longue Durée" by Zachary Lesser

Edward Gwynn’s set of Pavier Quartos
Edward Gwynn’s set of Pavier Quartos

book cover imageWhat’s the most influential book for Shakespeare scholarship? The First Folio of 1623 immediately comes to mind for many. However, there’s another book, less famous but still incredibly important for Shakespeare scholars: Edward Gwynn’s set of Pavier Quartos, found in the Folger Shakespeare Library collection.

Zachary Lesser takes a close look at the plays bound together in this volume in his recently published Ghosts, Holes, Rips and Scrapes: Shakespeare in 1619, Bibliography in the Longue Durée. The excerpt below discusses the book’s provenance and significance.