In 1623, seven years after William Shakespeare’s death, his friends published 36 of his plays in what is now known as the First Folio. Without that book, many of his most famous plays, including Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night, may have been lost.
Four hundred years later, Greg ‘One of the great Shakespearians of his generation’ (Sunday Times), explores the remarkable history of the Folio, arguably the most famous secular text in the world. Travelling to libraries, museums and private collections in 10 countries, he visits as many as possible of the surviving copies of the First Folio in existence today.
