First Cultural History Of The Wife Of William Shakespeare Now Available!

Through Anne Hathaway, dozens of authors and readers have created an imaginary through-line to the poet's supposed innermost thoughts, desires, habits, and actions, in hopes of unlocking the secrets of his literary achievements. As a result, in the nearly 400 years since her death, Anne Hathaway has enjoyed a vigorous afterlife in the imaginations of authors and readers worldwide.

What has been the appeal of Anne Hathaway, both globally and temporally, over the past four hundred years? Imagining Shakespeare's Wife: The Afterlife of Anne Hathaway examines representations of Hathaway, from the earliest depictions and details in the eighteenth century, to contemporary portrayals in theatre, biographies and novels. Residing in the nexus between Shakespeare's life and works, Hathaway has been constructed to explain the women in the plays but also composed from the material in the plays. Presenting the very first cultural history of Hathaway, Katherine West Scheil offers a richly original study that uncovers how the material circumstances of history affect the later reconstruction of lives.

Katherine West Scheil is Professor of English at the University of Minnesota. Her previous works have focused on the reception history of Shakespeare, and include The Taste of the Town: Shakespearian Comedy and the Early Eighteenth-Century Theater (2003), Shakespeare, Adaptation, Modern Drama, co-edited with Randall Martin (2011) and She Hath Been Reading: Women and Shakespeare Clubs in America (2012).