A Shakespeare of one’s own: female users of playbooks from the seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth century

Abstract

The aim of this article is to understand women’s intellectual activities involving Shakespeare’s playbooks by analysing their various book-related activities, such as annotating, editing, signing and attaching ex libris to books. Although researchers have increasingly recognized women’s participation in the canonization of Shakespeare, ex libris and book users’ signatures, unlike other resources, have not been systematically studied in relation to gender. Discreet observations and evaluations, typified by reading, are rarely appreciated as a participatory or creative process. However, it is hoped that this study focusing on women’s use of Shakespeare’s playbooks will give a voice to these seemingly quiet interpreters. For primary sources, more than 800 pre-1769 copies of Shakespeare’s playbooks held in major libraries throughout the world, including the British Library and Folger Shakespeare Library, were consulted. This research shows that women were actively involved in book-related activities; for example, they exchanged Shakespeare’s playbooks as gifts and preserved rare copies as family treasures. Some female readers even annotated Shakespeare’s works earlier than believed, approximately 40 years before the publication of Harriet Bowdler’s The Family Shakespeare in 1807. This article is published as part of a collection to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.