Chris Laoutaris

‘A lively picture of multiple operators scrambling to steal a march on the competition . . . Lavishly detailed’FINANCIAL TIMES ‘This is Shakespearean scholarship at its best, brilliantly researched yet compulsively readable. It's a book for our times, enduringly fascinating and appealing to both enthusiasts and the general reader. Highly recommended!’ ALISON WEIR FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE SUMMER A BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023? A BBC RADIO 4 FRONT ROW NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 AN AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 The year 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, known today simply as the First Folio. It is difficult to imagine a world without The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale and Macbeth, but these are just some of the plays that were only preserved thanks to the astounding labour of love that went into creating the first collection. Shakespeare’s Book: The Intertwined Lives Behind the First Folio charts, for the first time, the manufacture of the First Folio against a turbulent backdrop of seismic political events and international tensions that intersected with the lives of its creators. Shakespeare scholar Dr Chris Laoutaris uncovers the friendships, bonds, social ties and professional networks that facilitated the production of Shakespeare ’ s book, as well as the personal challenges, tragedies and dangers that threatened its completion. And he considers how Shakespeare himself, before his death, may have influenced the ways in which his own public identity would come to be enshrined in the First Folio, shaping the transmission of his legacy to future generations and determining how the world would remember him ‘not of an age, but for all time’. ‘Beautifully written and utterly compelling… comprises all the drama, intrigue and surprises of a Shakespeare play' Tracy Borman

The Alchemy is a robust, frank and loving guide to an often opaque industry. As well as offering tips on working in gentle increments and re-imagining what productivity and the work of writing look like, there is advice on sending out work and navigating the industry, looking after your mental health as you go. Full of practical advice, strategies, comfort and the occasional entertaining essay, The Alchemy is about writing a book when you thought you could not. It is for all writers, but with a particular eye on those who are tired and lacking in confidence, and those who face significant challenges – perhaps you are chronically ill or care for a loved one. It is a book for beginners, but it is also for those of you who are stuck in your habits and practice – perhaps you just need a pal to guide you through the day to day with the book you wanted to write. That's what The Alchemy is. Let's do this together.

The never-before-told story of how the makers of The First Folio created Shakespeare as we know him today. 2023 marks the 400-year anniversary of the publication of Mr William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, known today simply as the First Folio. It is difficult to imagine a world without The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter's Tale, and Macbeth, but these are just some of the plays that were only preserved thanks to the astounding labor of love that was the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. When the First Folio hit the bookstalls in 1623, nearly eight years after the dramatist's death, it provided eighteen previously unpublished plays, and significantly revised versions of close to a dozen other dramatic works, many of which may not have survived without the efforts of those who backed, financed, curated, and crafted what is arguably one of the most important conservation projects in literary history. Without the First Folio Shakespeare is unlikely to have acquired the towering international stature he now enjoys across the arts, the pedagogical arena, and popular culture. Its lasting impact on English national heritage, as well as its circulation across cultures, languages, and media, makes the First Folio the world's most influential secular book. But who were the personalities behind the project and did Shakespeare himself play a role in its inception? Shakespeare's Book: The Story Behind the First Folio and the Making of Shakespeare charts, for the first time, the manufacture of the First Folio against a turbulent backdrop of seismic political events and international tensions which intersected with the lives of its creators and which left their indelible marks on this ambitious publication-project. This story uncovers the friendships, bonds, social ties, and professional networks that facilitated the production of Shakespeare's book--as well as the personal challenges, tragedies and dangers that threw obstacles in the path of its chief backers. It reveals how Shakespeare himself, before his death, may have influenced the ways in which his own public identity would come to be enshrined in the First Folio, shaping his legacy to future generations and determining how the world would remember him: "not of an age, but for all time." Shakespeare's Book tells the true story of how the makers of the First Folio created "Shakespeare" as we know him today.

‘A lively picture of multiple operators scrambling to steal a march on the competition . . . Lavishly detailed’FINANCIAL TIMES ‘This is Shakespearean scholarship at its best, brilliantly researched yet compulsively readable. It's a book for our times, enduringly fascinating and appealing to both enthusiasts and the general reader. Highly recommended!’ ALISON WEIR FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE SUMMER A BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023? A BBC RADIO 4 FRONT ROW NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 AN AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 The year 2023 marks the 400th anniversary of Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, known today simply as the First Folio. It is difficult to imagine a world without The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale and Macbeth, but these are just some of the plays that were only preserved thanks to the astounding labour of love that went into creating the first collection. Shakespeare’s Book: The Intertwined Lives Behind the First Folio charts, for the first time, the manufacture of the First Folio against a turbulent backdrop of seismic political events and international tensions that intersected with the lives of its creators. Shakespeare scholar Dr Chris Laoutaris uncovers the friendships, bonds, social ties and professional networks that facilitated the production of Shakespeare ’ s book, as well as the personal challenges, tragedies and dangers that threatened its completion. And he considers how Shakespeare himself, before his death, may have influenced the ways in which his own public identity would come to be enshrined in the First Folio, shaping the transmission of his legacy to future generations and determining how the world would remember him ‘not of an age, but for all time’. ‘Beautifully written and utterly compelling… comprises all the drama, intrigue and surprises of a Shakespeare play' Tracy Borman

Bleed and See is an elegy for Chris Laoutaris' brother, George Laoutaris, whose premature death is grasped so close in the poet's hands, it passes with the beauty of the last of the summer roses. Chris Laoutaris quotes from an army of rich sources, from Desiderius Erasmus to Denise Levertov, with the inner strength to match them: "wisdom acquired through suffering is a kind of gift". Bleed and See is an otherworldly, moon-drenched collection which, like the best elegies, leaves us changed.

In November 1596, a woman signed a document that would nearly destroy the career of William Shakespeare . . .Who was this figure who played such an instrumental role in Shakespeare's life? Never far from controversy when she was alive, Lady Elizabeth Russell, the self-styled Dowager Countess of Bedford, has been edited out of public memory, yet the chain of events she set in motion would make Shakespeare the legendary figure we all know today.Lady Elizabeth Russell's extraordinary life made her one of the most formidable women of the Renaissance. And, in November 1596, she became the leader of a movement aimed at destroying William Shakespeare's theatrical troupe--a plot that resulted in the closure of the Blackfriars Theatre but the construction, instead, of The Globe.Providing new pieces to this puzzle, Chris Laoutaris's rousing history reveals for the first time this startling battle against Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

In November 1596, a woman signed a document that would nearly destroy the career of William Shakespeare . . . Who was this woman who played such an instrumental, yet little known, role in Shakespeare's life? Never far from controversy when she was alive she sparked numerous riots and indulged in acts of breaking-and-entering, bribery, blackmail, kidnapping and armed combat Lady Elizabeth Russell, the self-styled Dowager Countess of Bedford, has been edited out of public memory, yet the chain of events she set in motion would make Shakespeare the legendary figure we all know today. Lady Elizabeth Russell s extraordinary life made her one of the most formidable women of the Renaissance. The daughter of King Edward VI s tutor, she blazed a trail across Elizabethan England as an intellectual and radical Protestant. And, in November 1596, she became the leader of a movement aimed at destroying William Shakespeare s theatrical troupe a plot that resulted in the closure of the Blackfriars Theatre but the construction, instead, of the Globe. Providing new pieces to this puzzle, Chris Laoutaris's rousing history reveals for the first time this startling battle against Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain's Men."

Shortlisted for the Tony Lothian PrizeOne of the Telegraph's 'Best Books of 2014'One of the Observer's 'Books of the Year 2014'In November 1596 a woman signed a document which would nearly destroy the career of William Shakespeare . . . Who was the woman who played such an instrumental, yet little known, role in Shakespeare's life? Never far from controversy when she was alive - she sparked numerous riots and indulged in acts of bribery, breaking-and-entering, and kidnapping - Elizabeth Russell has been edited out of public memory, yet the chain of events she set in motion would be the making of Shakespeare as we all know him today. Providing new pieces to the puzzle, Chris Laoutaris's thrilling biography reveals for the first time the life of this extraordinary woman, and why she decided to wage her battle against Shakespeare.'A splendid and original book' Sunday Telegraph'A work of historical and literary detection which takes us straight to the heart of religious politics in Elizabethan England.' Frances Wilson, New Statesman 'I'm in love with the brilliant research on display in Shakespeare and the Countess by Christopher Laoutaris and how it brings to light Lady Elizabeth Russell, a force to be reckoned with and a trailblazing early feminist.' Amma Asante, Observer (Books of the Year)

This study explores maternity in the 'disciplines' of early modern England. Placing the reproductive female body centre-stage in Shakespeare's theatre, Laoutaris ranges beyond the domestic sphere in which the rituals of childbirth, midwifery and wet-nursing were performed in order to recuperate the wider intellectual, epistemological, and archaeological significance of maternity to the Renaissance imagination. Focusing on 'anatomy' in Hamlet, 'natural history' in The Tempest, 'demonology' in Macbeth, and 'heraldry' in Antony and Cleopatra, this book reveals the ways in which the maternal body was figured in, and in turn contributed towards the re-conceptualisation of, bodies of knowledge. The relevance of the maternal to early pedagogical, aesthetic, and scientific disciplines, Laoutaris argues, makes itself felt when crises overturn the desired outcomes of birth and nurture. Instances of tragic intervention - such as disease, bewitchment, monstrosity, and death - expose the potentially destabilising power of maternity, dismantling the epistemological certainties with which the maternal body had been invested in the interests of masculine legitimation. Shakespeare resists a monolithic concept of motherhood, presenting instead a range of contested 'maternities' which challenge the distinctive 'ways of knowing' these early disciplines worked to impose on the order of created nature. Key Features *Provides a new interpretation of a subject which is becoming increasingly popular among Shakespeare scholars, cultural and medical historians, and feminist critics *Focuses on four of Shakespeare's best-loved plays *Presents striking visual material which forms a central component of the book's critical methodology, including anatomical plates, cabinets of curiosity, early modern follies and grottoes, archaeological discoveries, artefacts of witchcraft and superstition, early natural historical specimens, Renaissance 'monsters', ceramics, portraiture, funerary monuments and statuary *Offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of maternity, encompassing research methods drawn from a range of academic fields, including literary studies, gender studies, the history of art, archaeology, and the history of the sciences