Shakespeare and the Publication of His Plays

Challenging the accepted view that Shakespeare was indifferent to the publication of his plays by focusing on the economics of the booktrade, examines the evidence that the playing companies resisted publishing their plays, reviews "the publication history of Shakespeare's plays, which suggests that the Lord Chamberlain's Men has a coherent strategy to try to get their playwright's plays into print," and "inquire[s] into what can or cannot be inferred from Shakespeare's alleged involvement (as with the narrative poems) or noninvolvement (as with the plays) in the publication of his writings." Concluding that publishers had little economic incentive to publish drama, calls for renewed attention to Shakespeare's attitude to his plays and their publication