Shakespeare's Shrine: The Bard's Birthplace and the Invention of Stratford-upon-Avon (Haney Foundation Series)

229 Pages·2012·4.4 MB·English

by  Julia Thomas

Shakespeare’s
Shrine
Shakespeare’s
Shrine
The Bard’s Birthplace and the
Invention of Stratford-u pon-A von
Julia Th omas
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
Philadelphia
A volume in the Haney Foundation Series, established in 1961 with the generous
support of Dr. John Louis Haney
Copyright © 2012 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or
scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means
without written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104- 4112
www .upenn .edu/ pennpress
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Th omas, Julia.
Shakespeare’s shrine : the Bard’s birthplace and the invention of
Stratford-upon-Avon / Julia Th omas.
p. cm. (Haney Foundation series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-0-8122-4423-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616—Birthplace. 2. Shakespeare,
William, 1564–1616—Homes and haunts—England—Stratford-upon-
Avon. 3. Stratford-upon-Avon (England)—Description and travel.
I. Title. II. Series: Haney Foundation series
PR2916.T36 2012
822.3'3—dc23
2012002583
Frontispiece: Victorian photographers set up camp outside the Birthplace.
Illustrated London News supplement, 30 April 1864. Reproduced by
permission of Special Collections and Archives, Cardiff University.
To my parents for my fi rst visit to the Birthplace,
and to Stuart for our many visits since

Contents
Introduction
Th e Birthplace in Victorian Culture
1
Chapter 1
Th e Birth of “Shakespeare”
13
Chapter 2
Bidding for the Bard: Th e Auction of the Birthplace
36
Chapter 3
Bringing Down the House: Restoring the Birthplace
60
Chapter 4
Real Estate? Authenticating the Birthplace
91
Chapter 5
Eight Th ings to Do in Stratford- upon- Avon: A Guide
for the Victorian Tourist
121
viii Contents
Conclusion
Th e Place and the Plays
156
Notes
169
Bibliography
199
Index
211
Ac know ledg ments
217
Shakespeare’s
Shrine