Folio Archives 287: Holinshed Chronicles 2012
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Holinshed Chronicles by Raphael Holinshed 2012
Originally published in three volumes in 1577, this is a collaborative work that describes British history from prehistoric times to the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. William Shakespeare used the Chronicles as a source of information for several of his plays including Macbeth, King Lear and Cymberline. The instigator was a London printer, Reginald Wolfe, who started writing in 1548, but realised the task was too great for him and hired several writers (one of whom was Holinshed) to complete the project. Holinshed was the writer who completed the work after Wolfe’s death.
This is not a book that you want to read from cover to cover (particularly as it is in 16th. Century English style), but one you should dip into at random places to read a fascinating account of different eras in English history.
The true joy of this book is in the woodcuts, which are taken from the second edition of 1577. They are an absolute delight, although in most cases they bear minimal relevance to the passage beside which they appear. The frontispiece is taken from the title page of volume three of an expanded edition published in 1587.
Bound in mid-green cloth blocked on cover and spine with a gilt and black pattern, the 435 page book follows the text of an abridged 1808 edition. There is a six page introduction by Michael Wood. The woodcuts are not enumerated, but there is one on every 20 or so pages. The endpapers and slipcase (26.1x16.9cm.) are black.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Originally published in three volumes in 1577, this is a collaborative work that describes British history from prehistoric times to the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. William Shakespeare used the Chronicles as a source of information for several of his plays including Macbeth, King Lear and Cymberline. The instigator was a London printer, Reginald Wolfe, who started writing in 1548, but realised the task was too great for him and hired several writers (one of whom was Holinshed) to complete the project. Holinshed was the writer who completed the work after Wolfe’s death.
This is not a book that you want to read from cover to cover (particularly as it is in 16th. Century English style), but one you should dip into at random places to read a fascinating account of different eras in English history.
The true joy of this book is in the woodcuts, which are taken from the second edition of 1577. They are an absolute delight, although in most cases they bear minimal relevance to the passage beside which they appear. The frontispiece is taken from the title page of volume three of an expanded edition published in 1587.
Bound in mid-green cloth blocked on cover and spine with a gilt and black pattern, the 435 page book follows the text of an abridged 1808 edition. There is a six page introduction by Michael Wood. The woodcuts are not enumerated, but there is one on every 20 or so pages. The endpapers and slipcase (26.1x16.9cm.) are black.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
