Overview

The first popular narrative history of Shakespeare's First Folio, the world's most obsessively pursued book. One book above all others has transfixed connoisseurs for four centuries--a book sold for shillings in the streets of London, whisked to Manhattan for millions, and stored deep within the vaults of Tokyo. The book: William Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623. Paul Collins, lover of odd books and author of the national bestseller Sixpence House, takes up the strange quest for this white whale of precious books. Broken down into five acts, each tied to a different location and century, The Book of William 's travelogue follows the trail of the Folio's curious rise: a dizzying S otheby's auction on a pristine copy preserved since the seventeenth century, the Fleet Street machinations of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth century quests for lost Folios, obsessive acquisitions by twentieth century oilmen, and the high-tech hoards of twenty-first century Japan. Finally, Collins speculates on Shakespeare's cross-cultural future as Asian buyers enter their Folios into the electronic ether, and recounts the book's remarkable journey as it is found in attics, gets lost in oceans and fires, is bought and sold, and ultimately becomes immortal.

Full Product Details

9781596911956

Table of Contents

Reviews

What can I say? I'm pretty sure that if Paul Collins wrote a history of the Detroit phone book, I would read and enjoy that too. Who'd have thought that a troll through First Foliodom could be so entertaining and absorbing? Collins is the best sort of popular historian: someone who can make the obscurest facts and people absorbing and entertaining. -Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust

&#8220;[A] lively and entertaining history of one of the most important books in English literature. &#8212;New York Times Book Review <p> [The First Folio's]&nbsp;386-year history is perfect for Collins' peripatetic narrative style... Collins is pleasant company on these journeys through musty and scholarly byways; fans of Bill Bryson... might find the style similar... This is great, informative fun. &#8212;Oregonian Collins' journey is that of a man stirred by ancient callings: Here is a tireless time traveler and researcher, focusing our attention on the beauty inherent in obscure and sacred objects. &#8212;San Francisco Chronicle &nbsp; Paul Collins gives bookishness a good name... The Book of William... follows his obsession to the root of all bibliomania - Shakespeare's exceedingly rare, ultra-collectible First Folio... The author proves himself to be an amusing, if unlikely guide... Collins' purpose here [is] not to sing Shakespeare's praises (as if they still need to be

Author Information

Paul Collins is an assistant professor of English at Portland State University and the author of Sixpence House, The Trouble with Tom, Not Even Wrong, and Banvard's Folly. His work has appeared in Smithsonian, the New York Times, and Slate. He edits the Collins Library imprint of McSweeney's Books and appears regularly on NPR's Weekend Edition as the show's resident literary detective.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available