Book Culture in Shakespeare’s Stratford: Quiney Family Discoveries

The recent discovery of two Latin books that once belonged to the Quiney family of Stratford-upon-Avon expands our understanding of Shakespeare’s grammar school education and of the social, material, and learned networks that operated in his hometown. One of these books, the Apophthegmata of Erasmus, belonged to Shakespeare’s friend and neighbour, Richard Quiney, while the other, a commentary on Aristotelian logic, was owned by a different Richard Quiney, who was Shakespeare’s grandson.


Building from a simple account of these findings, Book Culture in Shakespeare’s Stratford: The Quiney Connectionssheds new light on the use of Latin in the market town that produced the world’s most famous playwright. The story it tells weaves together analysis of letters, sermons, wills, public monuments and other printed books owned by local residents. Complementing these cultural explorations, biographical studies of Quiney family members and influential clergymen and teachers in Stratford evoke the impact of this learned culture on the lived experience of individual people. This study breaks new ground in our understanding of the rich educational environment that would enliven the plays and poems of William Shakespeare.

Marlin E. Blaine is Professor of English and Comparative Literature, California State University, Fullerton, USA

Lena Cowen Orlin is Professor Emeritus of English at Georgetown University, USA

Alan H. Nelson is Professor Emeritus of English at University of California, Berkeley, USA

Robert Bearman is University of Birmingham, Honorary Research Fellow in the School of History and Cultures, formerly Head of Archives and Local Studies at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.