About the Editors
Jonathan Bate is professor of Shakespeare and Renaissance literature at the University of Warwick. Widely known as a critic, award-winning biographer, and broadcaster, Bate is the author of several books on Shakespeare, including Shakespeare and Ovid and The Genius of Shakespeare, which was praised by Peter Hall, founder of the RSC, as "the best modern book on Shakespeare."
Eric Rasmussen is professor of English at the University of Nevada. He is co-editor of the Norton Anthology of English Renaissance Drama and of the works of Christopher Marlowe in the Oxford World's Classics series as well as individual plays in the Arden Shakespeare series, the Revels Plays series, and the Malone Society series. Since 1997, he has written the annual review of editions and textual studies for Shakespeare Survey.
The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) is a world-renowned ensemble theater company in Stratford and London, dedicated to bringing the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries to a modern audience.
"The endurance of Shakespeare depends not only on the felt
experience of good, vivid theater, but also on dynamic scholarship
that reveals his living text."
–Michael Boyd, RSC artistic director
"Timely, original, and beautifully conceived, this is a remarkable
edition, one that makes Shakespeare's extraordinary accomplishment
more vivid than ever."
–James Shapiro, professor, Columbia University and bestselling
author of A Year in the Life of Shakespeare: 1599
"The big book is a new one-volume edition of the complete works,
commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and published by the
Modern Library. Two eminent Shakespeareans, Jonathan Bate and Eric
Rasmussen, have applied modern editing techniques and recent
scholarship to correct and update the First Folio, the first
collection of the plays, published in 1623…. Mr. Bate writes… a
superb introduction that deals with Shakespeare and his world as
well as textual questions."
–The New York Times
“The excellent general introduction by Jonathan Bate and the essays
and notes on each play are… a feast of literary and historical
information.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“I look forward to using it over many years… enjoying Jonathan
Bate’s perceptive comments, trusting Eric Rasmussen’s textual
scholarship.”
—Peter Holland, President of the Shakespeare Association of
America, editor of Shakespeare Survey
“Bate’s edition is incomparably superior to all the rest. His
knowledge of textual problems and previous commentary seems to be
prodigious in its detail and thoroughness…. And his comments on
individual plays are unfailingly perceptive. He’s about equally
fine as scholar and critic; few excel in both roles, with their
very different requirements. Bate is like an all-star shortstop who
can also serve as an outstanding relief pitcher…. No other edition
has ever impressed me so much.”
--Joseph Sobran, author of William Shakespeare, Alias Shakespeare:
Solving the Greatest Literary Mystery of All Time
Jonathan Bate is a passionate advocate of Shakespeare and his
introductions to individual plays are full of striking and
convincing observations…. The scholarly apparatus is discreet,
elegant and pertinent. For each play, we get a set of ‘key facts’:
brief accounts of plots, dates and sources, and useful statistics….
Footnotes are found snugly and legibly at the bottom of each
page….There is a universe to be found in these annotations: the
Renaissance world of power and fate, sex and death, language and
philosophy. Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen have given us an
edition full of endless fascination.”
—London Times Education Supplement
"This is a glorious edition of one of the world's most important
books. It's the essential reference book for anyone who's ever been
in love, felt jealousy, fear, hatred, or desire. All human life is
here-and every home should have one."
–Dame Judi Dench, RSC honorary associate artist
“Anyone who wants a good single volume edition of the plays…won’t
do better than this.” —The International Herald Tribune
“A magnificent new volume.” —A. N. Wilson, Daily Telegraph (UK)
“A triumphant addition to our times.” —Fiona Shaw, The Times
(London)
"Thanks to Bate and Rasmussen, we now have a rendering of The
Complete Works that, in a rare publishing achievement, would also
give complete satisfaction to the author himself."
–Robert McCrum, The Observer
"A new and thoroughly radical edition…. The editorial decisions are
argued in an impeccably informative introduction by Jonathan Bate
that gives a comprehensive theatrical, social, political and
biographical context to the plays. There are pithy essays, also by
Bate, to introduce each play as well as exemplary notes at the foot
of each page... incomparably useful ... a definitive edition."
–Richard Eyre, Sunday Telegraph
“A splendid edition. The general introduction is among the best
50-page guides to Shakespeare you could hope to find, while the
short essays prefixed to each play are like the best kind of
programme notes - informative, thought-provoking and humane.... The
RSC's edition tells you all you need to know about the life, but
also, vitally, allows you to lose yourself in the wonder of the
works."
–Colin Burrow, Evening Standard
“Bate’s general introduction to Shakespeare’s life, stage and
reputation is superb, and the short introductions to individual
works, in particular, are among the best of their kind
available.”
—Michael Dobson, The London Review of Books
“Excellent, succinct notes and introductions to each play.”
—John Carey, The Sunday Times (London)
“Professor Jonathan Bate has written thought provoking essays for
each play, discussing the source material and its influence on the
play as well as pointing out the familiarities [for] contemporary
audiences… The glossary includes much that has been ignored in the
past …. This volume is an invaluable resource to anyone interested
in or simply in love with Shakespeare.” —Speech and Drama
“Bate provides excellent introductory essays to each play and his
terrific introduction, simply and effectively summarizing
everything you need to know about Shakespeare, man and work, is
alone worth buying the edition for.” —The Daily Express (UK)
“Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen have bravely gone where no Bard
editors have gone before, basing the entire edition on the First
Folio, the rehearsal room version authorized by actors John
Hemmings and Henry Condell after Shakespeare’s death. For the first
time, the Royal Shakespeare Company has been closely involved in
the developing of a collected works, including photography of RSC
productions and insights into staging decisions… this is
Shakespeare as you like it.” —What’s On Stage
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