The Book of William, Paul Collins
The Book of William, Paul Collins
2 Rating(s)
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

The Book of William
How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World

Author: Paul Collins

Narrator: Tim Getman

Unabridged: 6 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/28/2022


Synopsis

The first popular narrative history of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the world’s most obsessively pursued bookOne 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 Sotheby’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.

About Paul Collins

Paul Collins is an author specializing in science writing, magazine writing, history, and memoir; his books have appeared in a dozen languages. He is the recipient of an Oregon Book Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and teaches in the Creative Writing program at Portland State University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by brian on October 12, 2011

Yet another nice little book treat from Mr Collins. I must caution you, however, or perhaps entice you, by saying the book is almost peripherally about Shakespeare biographically, and more about his first collection of works. From a book collecting/book history point of view, I cannot think of a mor......more

Goodreads review by Kyle on July 06, 2012

Who knew that following in the footsteps of a world-conquering first edition would be such an emotional experience. Starting at one and the same time at an auction house and the original printing house, Collins does an impressive job chronicling where the extremely limited edition came from, and who......more

Goodreads review by Heather on August 04, 2024

Fascinating. A look at when and how Shakespeare became a popular author. It mainly had to do with entrepreneurial printers needing to make a buck, and marketing. Also, he’s beloved outside the English speaking world as well.......more

Goodreads review by VG on October 02, 2019

This could have been an outstanding book on the history of Shakespeare’s first folio, the subsequent printings of his collected plays throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the collecting of them today. It is, indeed, fascinating, both in terms of the central subject itself, and th......more

Goodreads review by Cricket on October 09, 2021

Shakespeare has his following. There are fans, some being deemed Bardolators, whose keen devotion is admirable. There are also scholars, whose devotion and academic expertise is daunting. Then there is Paul Collins, whose is a scholarly Bardolator. His devotion is not only admirable it is delightful......more


Quotes

“Exemplary scholar-adventurer writing.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] lively and entertaining history of one of the most important books in English literature.” New York Times Book Review

“Gleefully astonishing…Collins provides one of the most enjoyable examples of a most enjoyable genre, the book biography, as he tells the stories of individual Shakespeare first folios, their owners, their uses, and their travels. It’s a supremely enlightening journey that Collins’ convivial manner makes thoroughly gratifying.” Booklist

“Collins has done it again. This history—spanning the globe and 400 years in the life and fortunes of one of the most famous books in the English language—is not the dry province of historians, bibliophiles, and antiquarians…Witty, detailed, and highly entertaining, it will be appreciated by fans of Shakespeare, history, or human folly.” Library Journal