Documents of Performance in Early Modern England

Reviews / Votes

'... outstrips the magisterial E. K. Chambers.' Katherine Duncan-Jones, The Times Literary Supplement 'The exciting thing about Tiffany Stern's widely acclaimed book, Documents of Performance in Early Modern England, is that it made me look again at familiar literary and theatrical material that I had long taken for granted ... Stern's reading is staggeringly wide and her book - besides being both easily readable and entertaining - is full of pertinent illustrations of her various conclusions ... I was excited by all that I was learning ... This is an important study, stimulating and riveting to read, exhaustively well-researched and clearly organized. I heartily recommend it.' Mary Rosenberg, Shakespeare Newsletter 'Very occasionally a book comes along which should have a significant revisionary effect across a number of academic areas of study. Documents of Performance [in Early Modern England] is such a book ... Tiffany Stern calls into question many of the assumptions behind current early modern scholarship on authorship attribution, editing theory and practice, paratextual materials, playhouse performance, and play interpretation ... Stern's important arguments on the patchiness of plays ... all early modern theater scholars will now have to take into account.' Renaissance Quarterly '... essential reading for theatre historians, critics and editors alike ...' Ros King, The Times Literary Supplement '... a major contribution to our understanding of early modern theatre practice ... required reading.' Alan Dressen, Shakespeare Studies '... a wealth of intriguing insights ... teaches us more about [documents'] use and importance than we thought could be known.' Lukas Erne, Around the Globe '... an important and fascinating book ... challenges many misconceptions and sheds new light on the personnel and practices of early modern theaters and on the fragmentary character of the texts they required, produced, used ... Documents of Performance [in Early Modern England] is ... constantly enlightening ... lively ... impressive ...' C. E. McGee, Shakespeare Quarterly 'Stern's work delights ... with the high-resolution, multipixel visions she offers of the early modern theatrical world, not just in the playhouse, but also in the streets of London ... Superb.' Studies in English Literature 'The work that Documents of Performance [in Early Modern England] carries out in terms of reading into the components of the playbook, and analysing what is on the page - as well as what is not - provides the practical basis for a deconstruction of every early modern playtext, and a textual methodology rooted in the performance origins of drama ... Stern's work is useful to every editor and informative for every student and researcher and is quick to elaborate on areas of possible further research and its implications for the remainder of the field.' Cahiers Elisabethains 'This revelatory work of original scholarship will have a seminal impact on the study of early modern drama, on the editing of plays, and on studies of dramatic authorship.' Stanley Wells '... the engaging, enquiring, and authoritative way in which [Stern's] book operates will make it a challenge and a point of departure for many.' Tom Lockwood, The Library