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Showing You My Complete Works of Shakespeare from the 1890s (Patreon)

Published:
2022-01-25 17:22:16
Imported:
2026-06
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I have many different editions of the complete works of Shakespeare.

My Riverside Shakespeare awarded to me by Oriel is very special, and so are my Arden paperbacks, which are covered in excited scribblings.

But today I’d like to show you my eight-volume set from the 1890s. This was compiled by Sir Henry Irving, one of the greatest Shakespearean actors in history.

I’ve flipped through these editions so we can appreciate the beautiful illustrations together, and used the opportunity to discuss Shakespeare’s many plays, from early immature works to his late masterpieces, tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, and poem unlimited.

We have timestamps below, so feel free to jump to your favourite play.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the Henry Irving Shakespeare collection
  • 1:45 exploring the collection together
  • 7:35 Love's Labour's Lost
  • 9:00 The Comedy of Errors
  • 9:34 The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • 10:06 Romeo and Juliet
  • 12:00 King Henry VI (Parts 1, 2, 3)
  • 13:13 The Taming of the Shrew
  • 13:37 A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • 14:49 King Richard II
  • 15:35 King Richard III
  • 16:45 The Merchant of Venice
  • 18:05 King Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2)
  • 19:18 King Henry V
  • 20:01 The Merry Wives of Windsor
  • 20:41 As You Like It
  • 21:08 Twelfth Night
  • 21:30 Much Ado About Nothing
  • 22:44 All’s Well That Ends Well
  • 23:05 Julius Caesar
  • 24:00 Measure for Measure
  • 24:22 Troilus and Cressida
  • 24:31 Macbeth
  • 25:57 Othello
  • 26:47 Anthony and Cleopatra
  • 27:47 Coriolanus
  • 28:01 King Lear
  • 29:44 Timon of Athens
  • 30:23 Cymbeline
  • 30:44 The Tempest
  • 31:57 Titus Andronicus
  • 32:25 The Winter’s Tale
  • 32:45 Hamlet
  • 34:20 Pericles
  • 34:30 Henry VIII & Two Noble Kinsmen
  • 34:40 Shakespeare’s sonnets & poems
  • 36:20 wrapping up, and questions for you

Let us know:

If you had the complete works of Shakespeare before you, what play would you go to immediately? Is there a work you’re curious about? Do you have a favourite genre?

Happy Shakespearing, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Showing You My Vintage 1890s Shakespeare Collection

🎭 How to Produce a Play in the Theatre of Your Mind: https://cutt.ly/JI8j1dF ———————————— 📚 Read the Great Books in 2022 with the Hardcore Literature Book Club: https://www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature 💀 How to Read Hamlet (Banquets of Blood Lecture Series): https://cutt.ly/cI8jJlq ⛈️ How to Read King Lear: https://cutt.ly/0I8ktEW ———————————— 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/70IZA248yNVkrjqzDNm6Lt (Subscribe to the Hardcore Literature Podcast on iTunes & Spotify) 🏫 https://hardcore-university.teachable.com (Hardcore University, Exam Preparation Courses) ✍🏼 https://benjaminmcevoy.com My Personal Website ———————————— Hardcore Literature Lecture Series ———————————— 📔Contents Page: https://cutt.ly/CmNhRY3 🚂 Anna Karenina: https://cutt.ly/vmNhAWv 💀 Crime and Punishment: https://cutt.ly/rmNhFt5 ⚓ Persuasion: https://cutt.ly/amNhX7b ☕ In Search of Lost Time: https://cutt.ly/5mNh8oD ⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: https://cutt.ly/UmNjrE3 🌸 Siddharta: https://cutt.ly/YmNjuzi 🎠 Don Quixote: https://cutt.ly/cmNjoK4 ❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: https://cutt.ly/nmNlW7V 🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: https://cutt.ly/nToAQQ3 🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: https://cutt.ly/9ToAybt ———————————— 0:00 the Henry Irving Shakespeare collection 1:45 exploring the collection together 7:35 Love's Labour's Lost 9:00 The Comedy of Errors 9:34 The Two Gentlemen of Verona 10:06 Romeo and Juliet 12:00 King Henry VI (Parts 1, 2, 3) 13:13 The Taming of the Shrew 13:37 A Midsummer Night's Dream 14:49 King Richard II 15:35 King Richard III 16:45 The Merchant of Venice 18:05 King Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2) 19:18 King Henry V 20:01 The Merry Wives of Windsor 20:41 As You Like It 21:08 Twelfth Night 21:30 Much Ado About Nothing 22:44 All’s Well That Ends Well 23:05 Julius Caesar 24:00 Measure for Measure 24:22 Troilus and Cressida 24:31 Macbeth 25:57 Othello 26:47 Anthony and Cleopatra 27:47 Coriolanus 28:01 King Lear 29:44 Timon of Athens 30:23 Cymbeline 30:44 The Tempest 31:57 Titus Andronicus 32:25 The Winter’s Tale 32:45 Hamlet 34:20 Pericles 34:30 Henry VIII & Two Noble Kinsmen 34:40 Shakespeare’s sonnets & poems 36:20 wrapping up, and questions for you

Comments

Gholson Lyon

Love this video. More book collection videos please.

Caroline P

Ohhhh my goodness! Those illustrations! What truly gorgeous books. This is a funny thing, but as you turned the pages I am almost certain I could actually smell those books, that gorgeous book smell of proper, wonderful book shops. I confess to a certain amount of jealousy about those volumes. Sorry, couldn’t help it. .

hardcoreliterature
>>76440252

The old bookshop smell clinging to them is incredible. A heady intoxicant :) I’m quite obsessed with poring over the illustrations!

Leslie Loving

So great to see these beautiful volumes. I'm looking forward to perhaps feeling comfortable to browse again -- a few months from now - in several of my favourite local used book stores and enjoy the old book smell once more. I did get to the Vancouver Art Gallery for the exhibit of the newly acquired Shakespeare First Folio, along with the three other 17th century folios - the Second Folio of 1632, a Third Folio (1664 reprint of a 1663 folio that includes Pericles - not in the First Folio), and a Fourth Folio of 1685 (essentially a reprint of the 1664 Third Folio). So exciting to see these. - And maybe eventually more live Shakespeare performances at "Bard on the Beach" in Vancouver!

Dee

Gorgeous books and I’m glad they are in safe hands. I watched the video before I went to bed last night and then dreamt I was browsing in a beautiful secondhand bookshop in the countryside. I woke up for work refreshed by my lovely excursion. I seem to dream of books and their contents frequently since joining HLBC.

hardcoreliterature
>>76447102

I am green with envy.. As Shakespeare himself might have said! What an incredible opportunity. It’s really not often one gets the opportunity to see such a rare collection all in one place. Bard on the Beach sounds fabulous too!

hardcoreliterature
>>76475997

That’s so awesome! That’s a nice side effect of the club - improved dream landscape :) I get the same thing if I read or plan lectures too close to sleeping. I had a dream recently that was definitely influenced by Hamlet!

Vicky

Beautiful books, just been sorting out my late dads belongings and found his university copies of Shakespeare plays just from the 70s but well read obviously! My mum was a teacher and she used to act out Shakespeare plays with me using soft toys 😂😂 I don’t know if anyone remembers the 80s TV series Moonlighting with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis but my introduction to Taming of the Shrew was the episode they did re-enacting it 😅 not very high brow 😂

Michelle Marcoux

Amazing video, Ben! Such a wonderful collection, thank you for sharing them with us. The binding is gorgeous, along with the illustrations. I can’t help but wonder about all the events and life those books have seen and the number of minds they touched as well. I am sure they are very well cared for, loved, and appreciated in their current home. It was interesting to hear you mention the preface material, notes from the Press, and introduction sections and how they reflect a simpler time. I have really enjoyed the introductions in the Arden editions so far and you now have me keeping in mind how much those sections have evolved over the years with all the material they have added along the way as the historical contexts and events grew more and more numerous. As far as a play that I would go to immediately, it is most certainly King Lear. I know we are still very early in our Shakespeare adventure this year, and I have not previously read a large amount of his works, so it will be fun to see if another play can unseat that one, or tie it, as my favorite. Your descriptions in this video have me curious about the problem play aspect of The Taming of the Shrew and the writing style in Love’s Labour’s Lost and King Richard II. I am also very intrigued with the aspects in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and seeing if it will give a similar feel or any links to our Proust reading, especially with the subject of dreams. Thank you for the recommendation of James Shapiro’s 1599, that sounds like a fun one to delve into alongside our readings. Thanks again for this video, and I will give a very enthusiastic “yes vote” for more videos on your collections 😊.

Dee
>>76496252

Remember it! I wanted to be Maddie Hayes so much. I loved the really fast-paced dialogue, and the way the actors used to talk over each other. I might have to get my Moonlighting DVDs out of the loft and watch the Taming of the Shrew episode 😀

Vicky

If you don’t mind me asking were these incredibly expensive Ben?

Denise Powers

The only thing more charming than this beautiful collection is how happy they obviously make you! I can hear your absolute joy at holding them, smelling them, admiring the illustrations and holding such an important and very old set of works in your hands. Well done on getting these! It makes me smile to think of you so happy with them and I think it is a shame that all of us buy things that don't bring us a fraction of that joy. And yes! I would absolutely love to see more of your collection. I have always collected books, but never old and rare books such as those: I have been into the quantity rather than the quality! Please! show us more! :)

hardcoreliterature
>>76507831

Thank you, Michelle! I was wondering the very same thing myself. These books were born into a world that still had Oscar Wilde and Alfred, Lord Tennyson roaming about. I'm glad to hear you've been enjoying the introductions to the Arden editions. They're worth buying for their prefacing material alone - so much thought and care goes into them. Quality editions! But you're right that there has been a shift in these intros - I've noticed that the tone is quite different. As for King Lear, I have been trying to unseat (love this word) the play for years. I've been begging the other plays to come along and become my favourite. But it hasn't happened. Macbeth and Hamlet always get close, but KL remains number one in my heart. It will be interesting to see if it's the same with you too :)

hardcoreliterature
>>76515741

Thank you, Denise! I was ludicrously overjoyed when I found them. I've not been able to leave them alone since I picked them up. I'm lucky that books make me very happy. I can't think of another object that would do that for me, as I'm not very materialistic. Everybody should have a fun little something they collect that they can get excited about. And I would very happily show you more - I don't need much prompting! :)

Lori Miller

These are beautiful, Benjamin! I adore physical books, so I vote a hearty "yes" for more book show-and-tells. I love what you said to Michelle Marcoux's comment, "These books were born into a world that still had Oscar Wilde and Alfred, Lord Tennyson roaming about." What a lovely thought, and makes them even more special. Thank you for sharing these with us.