Vickers Shakespeare

JUSTINUS, Marcus Julianus: The Historie of Justine. Containing a narration of kingdoms, from the beginning of the Assyrian monarchy, unto the raigne of the emperor Augustus. Whereunto is newly added a briefe collection of the lives and manners of all the emperours succeeding, unto the Emp. Rodulphus now raigning. [ ] newly translated into English, by G.W. London William Iaggard 1606

Small Folio. ff. [8], 138, [40]. The first part includes a woodcut illustration of Solon, decorative initials and head and tail pieces. The second part [40 unnumbered leaves] contains a separate title page - "An Epitomie of the lives and manners of the Roman emperors taken out of the bookes of Sext. Aurelius Victor" - as well as numismatic portraits of the first 12 Roman emperors (Julius Caesar through Domitian). Early calf boards well rubbed, but treated and preserved; re-backed with gilt stamped spine. Rear blank leaf is intact; the front blank leaf may have been replaced with a sheet of early paper of a similar type. Pages are generally clean with occasional mild spots of marginal smudging; a small amount of marginal worming is present on the fore edge, above the lower right corner; the upper edge of the text block is closely trimmed, occasionally nicking the running titles. The inside front cover contains the dated armorial book plate of Henry Somerset 2nd Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714) - "The Most Noble Henry - Duke of Beaufort 1705-"; the inner rear cover has a bookplate from Julius Berzunza's Alexander the Great collection. English translation of Justinus's Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' lost work "Historiae Philippicae" on the history of the Macedonians and their empire. This edition of Justinus is of interest to SHAKESPEARE STUDIES. The translator "G.W." was George Wilkins (1578-1618), an associate of Shakespeare, a fellow member of the King's Company of Actors, and the most likely co-author of Shakespeare's late drama "Pericles, Price of Tyre." Pollard's English Short-Title Catalogue first identified Wilkins as the translator of the 1606 Justinus. (Wilkins actually plagiarized much of the translation from Arthur Golding's earlier English edition). In 1965 the scholar E.A.J. Honigmann confirmed the Wilkins ascription by showing how a passage lifted from Sydney's "Arcadia" was used in both the "Historie of Justine" and in Wilkins's 1608 novel "The Painful Adventures of Pericles, Prince of Tyre." The novel was based on Shakespeare's play (performed in 1607 and published in 1609). In addition Wilkins's "Pericles" re-uses part of the dedication which he wrote for the Justinus. A number of scholars over the years have argued that Wilkins was the co-author of Shakespeare's Pericles play. The theory that some of Shakespeare's later works were co-authored has created controversy amongst scholars who do not want to believe that the great bard would stoop to working with mediocre writers like Wilkins. Scholarship, however, has produced mounting evidence supporting the co-authorship scenario. Scholars have also examined the possibility that some passages in the Wilkins's Pericles novel preserve parts of the original play. In 1987 the state of scholarship was such that the Oxford edition of the "Complete Works of Shakespeare" included the play as a reconstructed text and drew "more heavily than usual on Wilkins's novel." [Vickers, p.313] An important study by Prof. Brian Vickers, Senior Fellow at the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, appears to definitively establish the co-authorship theory. (See Vickers, "Shakespeare, Co-Author; A Historical Study of Five Collaborative Plays," Oxford U. Press, 2002). This edition of Justinus is scarce at auction. [ESTC S117759, STC (2nd ed.) 24293]. Full Calf

[SW: Greek Roman Alexander Great Shakespeare Ancient History Justinus]

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Brian Vickers: 'Counterfeiting' Shakespeare, ISBN: 0521120357

35.00 3 Brian Vickers examines the issue of what Shakespeare actually wrote, and how this is determined. Shakespeare Äos authorship has been claimed for two poems, ÄoShall I die? Äo and A Funerall Elegye. Vickers shows that neither has the requisite stylistic and imaginative qualities. In other words, they are Äocounterfeits Äo, in the sense of anonymously authored works wrongly presented as Shakespeare Äos. He identifies John Ford as author of the Elegye.

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Brian Vickers: 'Counterfeiting' Shakespeare, ISBN: 0521772435

84.00 3 Brian Vickers examines the issue of what Shakespeare actually wrote, and how this is determined. Shakespeare Äos authorship has been claimed for two poems, ÄoShall I die? Äo and A Funerall Elegye. Vickers shows that neither has the requisite stylistic and imaginative qualities. In other words, they are Äocounterfeits Äo, in the sense of anonymously authored works wrongly presented as Shakespeare Äos. He identifies John Ford as author of the Elegye.

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Brian Vickers: Shakespeare, 'A Lover's Complaint', and John Davies of Hereford, ISBN: 0521859123

75.60 3 Shakespeare Äos Sonnets (1609) included a poem called A Lover Äos Complaint, of questionable authenticity. This first full study of this poem shows that it has many un-Shakespearian features. Using detailed analysis Vickers attributes the poem to John Davies of Hereford (1565 Äi1618). An important work which will re-define the Shakespeare canon.

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