The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

And besides, Shakespeare is above review – his work speaks for itself. I highly recommend this one from an aesthetic point of view. This is more of a dip in and dip out kind of book, so I thought I’d just tell you all about the edition itself, just in case you were thinking about acquiring a collection of Shakespeare for yourself or to give as a literary gift.

Now, clearly, I’m not going to sit down and read this book from cover to cover and review it in the usual way. There’s a short introduction at the front and a short life and times of Shakespeare at the back, but other than this, it’s all Shakespeare, not someone else’s reinterpretation, not a whole heap of ‘translated’ meanings, and no deconstructed text analysis – just The Bard, in his own words, as they were always intended to be appreciated. The text is presented in the traditional two column format which appeals to the traditionalist in me. This book is indeed beautiful, but even better, it has all of Shakespeare’s work, and while it’s far from compact and not even a little bit portable, it has presence: a stately hardcover, elegant end papers, and a thick ribbon bookmark (trust me – these things matter to a book collector). The Complete Works of William Shakespeare is an elegant edition boasting the entire credited catalogue of William Shakespeare including 16 comedies, 10 histories, 12 tragedies, as well as all of his poems and sonnets.īe still my beating heart. Combine this with my love of collecting beautiful books, and you get this: By now, regular readers will have gotten wind that I’m a Shakespeare tragic.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare