SBReviews is a vetted collection of reviews of works of significance to students, teachers, scholars, and those who share their academic interests in the study of Shakespeare and of the theatre and literature of the Early Modern Period.
Editor for SBReviews, Michelle Assay, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Huddersfield
SBReviews
SBReview_1:
Elena Levy-Navarro. The Culture of Obesity in Early and Late Modernity: Body Image in Shakespeare, Jonson, Middleton, and Skelton. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-60123-9; xi + 238 pp. US$74.95.
Reviewed by Arthur Lindley, Institute for Advanced Research, University of Birmingham
SBReview_1 initially appeared on January 29, 2009, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 20.0031 http://shaksper.net/archive/2009/272-january/26739-sbreviews1-the-culture-of-obesity-in-early-and-late and is also available as a SBR1_Levy that can be read online.
SBReview_2:
Scott L. Newstok, editor. Kenneth Burke on Shakespeare. West Lafayette, Indiana: Parlor Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-60235-002-1; lv + 308 pp. US$32.00.
Reviewed by Murray M. Schwartz, Professor, Department of Writing, Literature & Publishing, Emerson College
SBReview_2 initially appeared on January 29, 2009, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 20.0032 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2009/272-january/26740-sbreviews2-kenneth-burke-on-shakespeare> and is also available as a SBR_2 Burke.
SBReview_3:
Gothic Shakespeares. Edited by John Drakakis and Dale Townshend. General editor, Terrence Hawkes. Accents on Shakespeare Series. New York: Routledge, 2008. ISBN 978-0-415-42067-9; 264 p. US$39.95.
Reviewed by Peter Paolucci, York University
SBReview_3 initially appeared on April 2, 2009, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 20.0153 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2009/274-april/26861-sbreview3-gothic-shakespeares> and is also available as a SBR_3 Gothic.
SBReview_4:
Margreta de Grazia. Hamlet without Hamlet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Reviewed by David Richman, University of New Hampshire
SBReview_4 initially appeared on July 14, 2009, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 20.0371 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2009/281-july/27081-sbreview4-margreta-de-grazias-hamlet-without> and is also available as a SBR_4 Without Hamlet.
SBReview_5:
Lesel Dawson. Lovesickness and Gender in Early Modern English Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Reviewed by Eric Langley, University College London.
SBReview_5 initially appeared on October 29, 2009, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 20.0540 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2009/278-october/27249-sbreview5-lovesickness-and-gender> and is also available as a SBR_5 Lovsickness.
SBReview_6:
Samuel Crowl. Shakespeare and Film: A Norton Guide. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0393927658; xxv + 238pp. US$27.50.
Reviewed by Caroline Gaddy, James Madison University, The Shakespeare Standard.
SBReview_6 initially appeared on July 10, 2010, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 21.0268 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2010/293-july/27613-sbreview6-shakespeare-and-film> and is also available as a SBR_6 Crowl.
SBReview_7:
The New Kittredge Shakespeare: Julius Caesar. Ed. Sarah Hatchuel. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2008. ISBN-10: 1585102601. ISBN-13: 978-1585102600. 144 pp. US$8.95.
Reviewed by Alisha Huber, Mary Baldwin College.
SBReview_7 initially appeared on July 10, 2010, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 21.0269 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2010/293-july/27614-sbreview7-the-new-kittredge-shakespeare-julius> and is also available as a SBR_7 Kittridge JC.
SBReview_8:
Bruce R. Smith. Phenomenal Shakespeare (Blackwell Manifestos). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Hardcover: ISBN-13: 978-0631235484; 232 pp. US$84.95. Paperback: ISBN-10: 0631235485; US$29.95. Kindle: US$26.96.
Reviewed by James Mainard O'Connell, Assistant Technical Director/Shop Foreman, Columbia University.
SBReview_8 initially appeared on July 10, 2010, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 21.0270 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2010/293-july/27615-sbreview8-phenomenal-shakespeare> and is also available as a SBR_8 Smith.
SBReview_9:
David Schalkwyk. Shakespeare, Love, and Service. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 9780521886390. Pp. x + 317. U.S. $93.
Reviewed by David Evett, Professor Emeritus, Cleveland State University.
SBReview_9 initially appeared on July 10, 2010, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 21.0271 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2010/293-july/27616-sbreview9-shakespeare-love-and-service> and is also available as a SBR_9 Schalkwyk.
SBReview_10:
William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice. Barnes & Noble Shakespeare. Edited by Julie Crawford. Series editor: David Scott Kastan. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2008. ISBN 978- 1-4114-0085-6. US$6.95
Reviewed by Jeremy Fiebig, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Fayetteville State University
SBReview_10 initially appeared on January 7, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0002 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2011/296-january/27814-sbreviews10-ban-the-merchant-of-venice> and is also available as a SBR_10 Merchant.
SBReview_11:
Robert Appelbaum. Aguecheek's Beef, Belch's Hiccup, and Other Gastronomic Interjections: Literature, Culture, and Food Among the Early Moderns. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. xxiv + 376 pp. $32.50. ISBN: 0-226-02126-2.
Reviewed by Arthur Lindley, Institute for Advanced Research, University of Birmingham
SBReview_11 initially appeared on January 7, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0003 http://shaksper.net/archive/2011/296-january/27813-sbreviews11-robert-appelbaums-aguecheeks-beef and is also available as a SBR_11 Appelbaum.
SBReview_12:
Janet Adelman. Blood Relations: Christian and Jew in The Merchant of Venice. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-00681-9; xi + 226pp. US$35.00.
Reviewed by Murray M. Schwartz, Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College
SBReview_12 initially appeared on January 7, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0004 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2011/296-january/27815-sbreviews12-janet-adelmans-blood-relations> and is also available as a SBR_12 Adelman.
SBReview_13:
William Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Nicholas F. Radel & David Scott Kastan. New York: Barnes and Noble Shakespeare, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1411400412; pp.335. US$6.95.
Reviewed by Ann Pleiss Morris, English Ph.D. Candidate, University of Iowa, M.Litt in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance, Mary Baldwin College
SBReview_13 initially appeared on January 7, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0005 <http://shaksper.net/archive/2011/296-january/27817-sbreviews13-ban-the-taming-of-the-shrew> and is also available as a SBR_13 Shrew.
SBReview_14:
William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice, ed. John Drakakis. The Arden Shakespeare, 3rd series (London: Methuen Drama, 2010). pp. xx + 460. $100; $17 pb.</p>
Reviewed by Jay L. Halio, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Delaware.
SBReview_14 initially appeared on May 27, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0094 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/299-may/27938-sbreview14-arden3-mv and is also available as SBR14_Arden3_MV
SBReview_15:
MacFaul, Tom. Male Friendship in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. xi + 222 pp. ISBN:978-0-521-86904-1.
Reviewed by Anthony Guy Patricia, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
SBReview_15 initially appeared on May 27, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0095 http://shaksper.net/archive/2011/299-may/27943--the-shakespeare-conference-shk-220095-friday-27-may-2011-from-hardy-m-cook-date-friday-may-27-2011-subject-sbreview15-male-friendship-in-shakespeare-and-his-contemporaries-sbreview15-macfaul-tom-ma and is also available as SBR15_MaleFriendship
SBReview_16:
Woodbridge, Linda. English Revenge Drama: Money, Resistance, Equality. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. xvi + 332 pp. $95.00. ISBN:0521884594.
Reviewed by Harry Keyishian, Professor of English at FDU and Director of Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
SBReview_16 initially appeared on May 27, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0096 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/299-may/27941-sbreview16-english-revenge-drama-money-resistance-equality and is also available as SBR16_Revenge
SBReview_17:
Hugh Grady, Shakespeare and Impure Aesthetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. ix-261pp. $102. ISBN 978-0-521-51475-0
Reviewed by Alison Findlay, Professor of Renaissance Drama, Lancaster University (UK)
SBReview_17 initially appeared on October 6, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0269 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/302-october/28166-sbreview17-shakespeare-and-impure-aesthetics and is also available as SBR17_Aesthetics.pdf
SBReview_18:
Madhavi Menon. Unhistorical Shakespeare: Queer Theory in Shakespearean Literature and Film. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-60670-8; xi + 195 pp. US$85.00.
Reviewed by Ryan Singh Paul, Allegheny College
SBReview_18 initially appeared on October 6, 2011, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 22.0270 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/302-october/28167-sbreview18-unhistorical-shakespeare-queer-theory-in-shakespearean-literature-and-film and is also available as SBR18_Unhistorical
SBReview_19:
Bicks, Caroline and Jennifer Summit, eds. The History of British Women’s Writing 1500-1610. The History of British Women’s Writing, Volume 2. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0-230-21834-5; xxx + 346. US$30
Dowd, Michelle M. and Thomas Festa, eds. Early Modern Women on the Fall: An Anthology. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2012. ISBN-13 978-0-86698-458-4; 386. US$60
Frye, Susan. Pens and Needles: Women’s Textualities in Early Modern England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0-812-4238-6/ 978-0-8122-2252-4; xx + 302. US$65/27.50
Hodgson, Elizabeth. Grief and Women Writers in the English Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-1-107-07998-4. 196. US$90
Knopopers, Laura Lunger, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Women’s Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0-521-88527-0; xxvii + 306. US$344.99
Reviewed by Annalisa Castaldo, Widener University
SBReview_19 initially appeared on October 9, 2015, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 26.458 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31092-sbreview-19-women-writers-of-the-early-modern-period and is also available as SBReview 19
SBReview_20:
Sher, Antony. Year of the Fat Knight: The Falstaff Diaries. London: Nick Hern Books, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-18484-2461-6 189 pages. £16.99
Reviewed by Kirk McElhearn, Independent Scholar
SBReview_20 initially appeared on October 9, 2015, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 26.459 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31094-sbreview-20-antony-sher-s-year-of-the-fat-knight-the-falstaff-diaries and is also available as SBReview 20
SBReview_21:
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare Made in Canada, General Editor Daniel Fischlin. Oakville, ON: Rock Mills Press, 2015. Xli + 107 pp. US$14.95. (ISBN-13 978 0 9881293 6 8).
Reviewed by Peter Hyland, Huron University College
SBReview_21 initially appeared on October 9, 2015, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 26.460 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31096-sbreview-21-shakespeare-made-in-canada-a-midsummer-night-s-dream and is also available as SBReview 21
SBReview_22:
Aneta Mancewicz. Intermedial Shakespeares on European Stages. London: Plagrave Macmillan, 2014. Hardcover: ISBN-13: 978-1137-360038; 202 pp. US$90.00.
Reviewed by Jake P. Claflin, Idaho State University
SBReview_22 initially appeared on November 9, 2015, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 26.531 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31177-sbreview-22-intermedial-shakespeares-on-european-stages and is also available as SBReview 22
SBReview_23:
Tina Packer, Women of Will: Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015. xvii + 336 pp. US$13.99. (ISBN-13: 978-0307700391)
Lori Leigh, Victoria University of Wellington
SBReview_23 initially appeared on November 9, 2015, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 26.532 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31178-sbreview-23-women-of-will-following-the-feminine-in-shakespeare-s-plays and is also available as SBReview 23
SBReview_24:
Harry Berger Jnr. A Fury in the Words: Love and Embarrassment in Shakespeare’s Venice, New York, 2013. Fordham University Press. pp. ix-x + 229.
Reviewed by John Drakakis, University of Stirling
SBReview_24 initially appeared on February 29, 2016, in SHAKSPER digest SHK SHK 27.068 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31322-sbreview-23-a-fury-in-the-words-love-and-embarrassment-in-shakespeare-s-venice and is also available as SBReviews 24.
SBReview_25:
Smith, Emma. The Making of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2015. ISBN: 978-85124-442-3. 180 pages. 8 figures. 32 colour plates. £20.
Reviewed by Pervez Rizvi, Independent Scholar
SBReview_25 initially appeared on February 29, 2016, in SHAKSPER digest SHK SHK 27.069 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31324-sbreview-24-the-making-of-shakespeare-s-first-folio and is also available as SBReviews 25.
SBReview_26:
Roger Gross. Shakespeare’s Verse: A User’s Manual. Fayetteville, AR: Pen-L Publishing, 2015. Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1942428220, paperback ISBN-13 978-1942428046. xix + 189 pp. $32.95/22.95 US.
Reviewed by Annalisa Cataldo, Widener University
SBReview_26 initially appeared on February 29, 2016, in SHAKSPER digest SHK SHK 27.070 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31326-sbreview-25-shakespeare-s-verse-a-user-s-manual and is also available as SBReviews 26.
SBReview_27:
Crawforth, Hannah, Sarah Dustagheer, and Jennifer Young. Shakespeare in London. Bloomsbury: London, 2015. ISBN-PB: 978-1-4081-4596-8 xvii + 262 pages. US$29.95
Reviewed by Lana Harper
University of Sussex
SBReview_27 initially appeared on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in SHAKSPER digest 27.154 http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31433-sbreview-27-shakespeare-in-london - http://shaksper.net/current-postings/31433-sbreview-27-shakespeare-in-london and is also available as SBReview_27.
SBReview_28:
Ferguson, Alisa Grant. Shakespeare, Cinema, Counter-Culture: Appropriation and Inversion. New York: Routledge, 2016. Xi +178 pp. $140.00. (ISBN-978 0 415 82300 5).
Reviewed by Kelly A. Rivers, Pellissippi State Community College
SBReview_28 initially appeared on Thursday, 30 March 2017, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 28.132 https://shaksper.net/archive/2017/788-march/31959-new-sbreview-shakespeare-cinema-counter-culture-appropriation-and-inversion and is also available as SBReview_28.
SBReview_29:
Lopez, Jeremy. The Arden Introduction to Reading Shakespeare: Close Reading and Analysis. London: Arden Shakespeare/Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019. Pp. viii + 164. $68.00 (cloth), $22.95 (paper).
Reviewed by Ryan Singh Paul, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
SBReview_29 initially appeared on Friday, 15 May 2020, in SHAKSPER digest SHK 31.140 https://shaksper.net/current-postings/33670-review-for-shaksper and is also available as SBReviews 29. https://shaksper.net/archive/2021/860-january/33920-shaksper-book-review
SBReview_30:
Pope, Johnathan H. Shakespeare’s Fans: Adapting the Bard in the Age of Media Fandom. Palgrave, 2020. Pp. vii + 184. $84.99 (hardcover), $59.99 (softcover), $44.99 (eBook), $29.95 (chapter).
Reviewed by Rachel Wifall, Saint Peter’s University
SBReview_30 initially appeared on Monday, 25 January 2021, in SHK 32.022 https://shaksper.net/archive/2021/860-january/33920-shaksper-book-review and as SBReviews_30
SBReview_31:
Iyengar, Sujata. Shakespeare and Adaptation Theory. The Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury, 2023, $34.95
Reviewed by Nayoung Seo, George Washington University
SBReview_31 initially appeared on Monday, 5 February 2024, in SHK 35.017 and as SBReviews_31.