Shakespeare and Garrick

Much has been written about the acting style of David Garrick, the eighteenth century's greatest actor-manager, but this book, unusually, claims a place for him within Shakespeare studies as a literary as well as a theatrical figure. It analyses several of Garrick's alterations of Shakespeare's plays in which he took the lead, and traces his close involvement with the major Shakespeare editors of the period, including his friend Samuel Johnson. Admirers claimed that Garrick's performances illuminated the playtexts better than the commentaries of scholarly editors. His reputation as Shakespeare's living representative and best interpreter was so high that he was involved in most Shakespeare-related projects of his day, not least the Jubilee at Stratford. While Garrick lived, the imminent divorce of 'stage' and 'page' could not take place. In this text, Cunningham shows how vital a resource Garrick's collection of early plays in English has been to generations of Shakespeare scholars.

Review of the hardback: '… excellent survey of Garrick's literary relations … most entertaining …' The Times Literary Supplement, Review of the hardback: 'The strength of Cunningham's study lies … in the author's ability to take readers back to a period when Shakespeare's status as a cultural icon was far from secure. Her effort to understand Garrick on his own terms rather than on those of much later generations of critics is a welcome addition to the field of eighteenth-century Shakespeare reception.' Anglistik: International Journal of English Studies, Review of the hardback: 'Cunningham's study provokes a thoughtful, focused analysis of a figure central to eighteenth-century culture whose work has received far too little critical attention in recent years.' Literature and History

Vanessa Cunningham is a Fellow of Cardiff University.