Shakespeare: The Complete Works [Hardcover]

William Shakespeare (Author), G. B. Harrison (Author), George Bagshaw Harrison (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1675 pages
• Publisher: Heinle & Heinle Publishers (March 1952)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0155805304
• ISBN-13: 978-0155805309
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harrison's Shakespeare, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Hardcover)

This is the version used in my college Shakespeare courses, way back in 1972! It was lost in a housefire, and I haven't seen it since. The one hundred page introduction is dense and rich in historical detail. This IS the best version I have ever encountered. What a find!

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excelent compilation of the works of Shakespeare, January 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Shakespeare: The Complete Works (Hardcover)

This is the most excelent compliation of the works of William Shakespeare that I have ever seen. The introductions to the works are thorough and the footnotes are easily understandable. I highly recomend this book to any Shakespeare fan

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Second time failure, June 15, 2011

By 

Dan C - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Works: The Comedies, the Histories, the Tragedies (Paperback)

This is the second time I have tried to get a complete works of William Shakespeare in Spanish and they send me the English edition. I paid 29.29 cents to return a set of books that cost only 22 dollars to purchase. Not happy. Dan C