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In September 2014, Jason Scott-Warren reviewed a book, Matthew Zarnowiecki's Fair Copies: Reproducing English Lyric from Tottel to Shakespeare for the Times Literary Supplement. The review was brief - some 439 words - but positive, commending Zanowiecki's 'fresh perspective' and praising the book as 'a rich provocation and an incitement to rethink our approach to… Continue reading Making Shakespeare’s Sonnets – part 4 →

In 1564, a man called Michel Mayer seems to have had a rather eventful June. A weekend visit to a brothel got rather out of hand: he went on a Sunday, stayed through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, returning to his lodgings on the Thursday, where he 'went to sleep on a box in his room'… Continue reading Making Shakespeare’s Sonnets – part 3 →

Let's say I'm putting together an edition of Shakespeare's sonnets for a prestigious publishing house. I spin slowly on my incredibly expensive orthopaedic office chair, casting my handsome and intelligent eyes around my oak panelled study and across my many shelves of rare books. I puff thoughtfully at my cigar, before stubbing it out in… Continue reading Making Shakespeare’s Sonnets – part 2 →

In this series I'll be examining how the text(s) we know as 'Shakespeare's Sonnets' were first made - and how they continue to be re-made. If you haven't read Shakespeare's sonnets, you'll find that they are - by most accounts - quite good. Skim through the Amazon reviews and you'll find a very large majority… Continue reading Making Shakespeare’s Sonnets – part 1 →

 On 15 April 1984, the comedian Tommy Cooper sunk to the floor during the recording of the popular LWT show Live From Her Majesty’s . He was centre-stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre, just in front of the curtain, and was halfway through a skit involving a ‘magic cloak’; a younger comedian, Jimmy Tarbuck, was tasked… Continue reading Extract: Shakespeare for Snowflakes →