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  • Published: 2 April 2024
  • ISBN: 9780593824283
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Childrens
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00

The Bard and the Book

How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion



The unlikely true story of why we know the name William Shakespeare today, and the four-hundred-year-old book that made it possible.

Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters’ lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as in, an actor’s role) and passed around, but no master script was saved for the future. The main reason we’ve heard of Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare himself is that a group of people made the excellent choice to preserve the plays after the Bard died. If they hadn’t created the book known as the First Folio, Shakespeare and his works would surely have been lost to history.  

Part literary scavenger hunt (the search for every existing First Folio continues today), part book trivia treasure trove, and part love letter to Shakespeare, this behind-the-scenes, sharply funny true story is an ideal introduction to the Bard and his famous plays.

  • Published: 2 April 2024
  • ISBN: 9780593824283
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Childrens
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00

About the author

Ann Bausum

Ann Bausum writes about US history for young people. Her books consistently earn prominent national recognition. Denied, Detained, Deported was named the 2010 Carter G. Woodson Book Award winner at the secondary school level from the National Council for the Social Studies. Muckrakers earned the Golden Kite Award as best nonfiction book of the year from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Freedom Riders gained the Robert F. Sibert Honor designation from the American Library Association, and With Courage and Cloth received the Jane Addams Children's Book Award as the year's best book on social justice issues for older readers.

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Praise for The Bard and the Book

“This extensively researched book offers an eye-opening look at an unforgettable historical event. . . .”—Booklist, starred review for ENSNARED IN THE WOLF’S LAIR
“Bausum's work . . . is not to be missed."—Booklist, starred review for VIRAL
“Bausum's precise journalism takes on an engaging narrative quality…The structure paves the way for plenty of dramatic tension, resulting in a rousing, sympathetic account . . .”—School Library Journal, starred review for VIRAL
“An exceptionally well-written and -researched chronicle of a crucial civil rights turning point."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for MARCH AGAINST FEAR