Research Catalog

Shakespeare before Shakespeare : Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and the Elizabethan state

Title

Shakespeare before Shakespeare : Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and the Elizabethan state / Glyn Parry and Cathryn Enis.

Author

Parry, G. J. R.

Publication

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2020.
©2020

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JFE 21-454	Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Additional Authors

Enis, Cathryn

Description

ix, 213 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

Before William Shakespeare wrote world-famous plays on the themes of power and political turmoil, the Shakespeare family of Stratford-upon-Avon and their neighbors and friends were plagued by false accusations and feuds with the government-conflicts that shaped Shakespeare's sceptical understanding of the realities of power. This ground-breaking study of the world of the young William Shakespeare in Stratford and Warwickshire discusses many recent archival discoveries to consider three linked families, the Shakespeares, the Dudleys, and the Ardens, and their battles over regional power and government corruption. Robert Dudley, earl of Leceister, and Ambrose Dudley, earl of Warwick, used politics, the law, history, and lineage to establish their authority in Warwickshire and Stratford, challenging political and social structures and collective memory in the region. The resistance of Edward Arden-a second cousin of Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother-and his friends and family culminated in his execution on false treason charges in 1583. By then the Shakespeare family also had direct experience with the London government's power: in 1569, Exchequer informers, backed by influential politicians at Court, accused John Shakespeare, William's father, of illegal wood dealing and usury. Despite previous claims that John had resolved these charges by 1572, the book's new sources show the Exchequer's continuing demands forced his withdrawal from Stratford politics by 1577, and undermined his business career in the early 1580s, when young William first gained an understanding of his father's troubles. This complicated community directly impacted Shakespeare's own perspective on local and national politics and social structures, connecting his early experiences in Stratford and Warwickshire with many of the themes later found in his plays.

Subject

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

1. The Dudleys -- 2. The Ardens -- 3. The Shakespeares -- 4. The Trial of John Somerville and Edward Arden -- 5. The Aftermath.

Call Number

JFE 21-454

ISBN

9780198862918
0198862911

LCCN

2020937540

OCLC

1153274026

Author

Parry, G. J. R., author.

Title

Shakespeare before Shakespeare : Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and the Elizabethan state / Glyn Parry and Cathryn Enis.

Publisher

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Copyright Date

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chronological Term

1485-1603

Added Author

Enis, Cathryn, author.

Research Call Number

JFE 21-454

View in Legacy Catalog