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Shakespeare & Beyond

The sanitized Shakespeare of Mary Lamb and Henrietta Bowdler - Excerpt: 'Shakespeare's Lady Editors' by Molly Yarn

Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare

Frontispiece from 1922 edition of Tales from Shakespeare, by Charles and Mary Lamb. Folger PR2877 L3 1922

As anyone who has read Shakespeare’s plays can attest, their content is not always very appropriate for children: brutal murders, bawdy jokes, incest, etc. Editions of Shakespeare’s plays that have been designed specifically for children often omit or smooth over things that parents might find objectionable.

In the 19th century, young women were effectively considered children as well — in need of protection from damaging exposure to the rougher adult world depicted in Shakespeare’s texts. The below excerpt from Shakespeare’s ‘Lady Editors’ by Molly Yarn explores the extent of this restricted access; how it was perpetuated by two female editors of Shakespeare’s works, Mary Lamb and Henrietta Bowdler; and how this all played out in Emily Dickinson’s co-ed Shakespeare book club.