The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare: Complete Works (Hardcover)

by William Shakespeare (Author) "THIS play, indisputably one of the earliest complete productions of Shakespeare's mind, was first printed in the folio of 1623, where, owing to the arbitrary..." (more)
Key Phrases: first folio omits, folio inserts, old teat, Love's Labour's Lost, Twelfth Night, Midsummer Night's Dream (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The complete theatrical works of the immortal Bard, uniquely supplemented with annotations and critical analysis by a host of eminent scholars, including Samuel Coleridge and Samuel Johnson, plus a biography of Shakespeare himself. For the collection of the Shakespeare enthusiast, and the edification of the Shakespeare novice.

From the Inside Flap
The complete theatrical works of the immortal bard, uniquely supplemented with annotation and critical analysis by a host of eminent scholars and critics -- from Samuel Coleridge to Samuel Johnson. Plus a biography of Shakespeare himself. For the collection of the Shakespeare enthusiast, and the edification of the Shakespeare novice. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2400 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy; Annotated edition (August 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517205963
• ISBN-13: 978-0517205969
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 3.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #631,887 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Cover. But..., April 27, 2003

By	"shakesfan" (U.S.) - See all my reviews

Saw this book on in a friends library and picked it up because it was so attractive. I've always thought i should read shakespeare, so i tried browsing in it. Not much fun. So i came to amazon to look for reviews. Now i see what the problem was.
Sure it seems awesome to have such a polished looking volume on the coffee table, but i'm starting with the Oxford student edition of a couple plays and finally starting to GET shakespeare! This one is too expensive a centerpiece for my table if i'm never going to feel able to understand it!

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Neither "The Globe" nor "Shakespeare" belong on this edition, April 11, 2003

By	richardpinneau.com (Colorado) - See all my reviews

I am loathe to waste *any* time reviewing this volume, except that I cannot bear that the names of "The Globe" and "Shakespeare" are suffering by being used here. Additionally, I would save unsuspecting buyers some money.
Note first that Howard Staunton, the editor of "The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare" died in 1874. That is how current this edition is. Unfortunately modern corporations continue to reprint this woefully out-dated version of Shakespeare (the long-deceased editor requiring no royalty payments) and assign a "publication date" that makes this reprint sound contemporary. [Publisher names associated with this uncritical approach to reproducing Shakespeare may vary. This "Globe Illustrated" printing has come out under publisher names "Gramercy", "Random House VALUE", and (in 1983) "Greenwich House".] Caveat, caveat, caveat emptor!
Do not assume that "Shakespeare is Shakespeare". This version may be great "for your collection" but you will not find yourself wanting to dip into the Bard's momental works here. It is NOT accurate. Scholarship has advanced so far in the past century that those in the know LAUGH at many of the editorial decisions that were passed along in Staunton's day.
Rather than repeat here my thoughts about better editions, please see the discussion in the review of one of the Gramercy printings ( ISBN 0517053616 ) for REWARDING editions of Shakespeare [ e.g., those published by Arden/Routledge, Oxford, Addison-Wesley (ed.: David Bevington), Penguin ].
Do your love of Shakespeare some justice and do not support this attractive *looking* offer.
PS: The illustrations are quaint Victorian fantasies - obscuring rather than illustrating what the Elizabethan master achieved. For an appreciation of how we may finally reach back to the original Shakespearean intent (without Victorian filters), please see Fintan O'Toole's recently re-released "Shakespeare is Hard, but So Is Life" (search for Amz ISBN 186207528X ).

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous book for any collection, June 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Globe Illus Shakespeare: Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

I'll not claim to be a Shakespeare expert, nor will I even lie and say that I've read all the plays. Shakespeare's work hardly needs my uneducated commentary. What I will say is that this is a simply gorgeous book, rich with explanations of those phrases my beloved English teacher understood and I've long since forgotten. The pages are thin, and the type unique. You feel like you are travelling to another place and time. Beautiful end papers, gilt edges and delicate illustrations make this a visual treat. This book will be much argued over when the time comes for it to be passed to the next generation.