In the nineteenth century, Shakespeare achieved the status of international pre-eminence that we recognize today. He and his major characters were depicted in statues, paintings and illustrations, and in Stratford-upon-Avon the house where he was born was purchased for the nation and the first Memorial Theatre was built. His words were read, quoted and declaimed in domestic drawing rooms and theatres all around the world, as well as in the works of the leading writers of the day, in intimate love letters and in the pages of radical newspapers. As these new essays show, his was a voice that resonated tellingly throughout the century's cultural, political and literary arenas. The unique reference guide also shows just how popular he was in a number of London theatres and how integral a part he played in the publishing industry of the day and in the burgeoning field of literary criticism.
