revYG [E-BOOK] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s Online

[revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio Pdf Free

Andrea Mays *Download PDF | ePub | DOC | audiobook | ebooks

Download Now Free Download Here Download eBook

#995598 in Books imusti 2016-04-05 2016-04-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.37 x .90 x 5.50l, .0 #File Name: 1439118256368 pagesSIMON SCHUSTER | File size: 17.Mb

Andrea Mays : The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio:

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Informative, interesting and at times gripping as a tale of suspenseBy BrontinaBeing passionate about Shakespeare and an European transplanted to the States, I was curious about Folger and his library, so I decided to order the book. I really enjoyed every page of it! The first chapters are mostly about how the First Folio was conceived and published, with lots of interesting technical details and historical information. Homage is duly paid to Heminges and Condell, the two fellow-players and close friends of Shakespeare to whose loyalty and insight we owe the survival of the Bard's works today. Even if you are not particularly interested in history, these pages are easy to read,informative and interesting. The rest of the book is about Henry and Emily Folger's obsession for everything Shakespeare. The purchases of real treasures, like the Vincent First Folio, are described as a gripping tale of suspense... However, part of me could not help but feel sorry for England, depleted of so many precious books that are now only available in Washington. I had the impression that the author was a bit biased in favor of Folger, who was certainly a great business man but who was perhaps a little too possessive with his books. Still now, it seems, his wife Emily is the only person who was allowed to actually borrow from the library. In conclusion, the book was a very interesting and informative read, and you don't need to be a scholar or a student to enjoy it. It made me even more eager to see the Folger Shakespeare Library.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant ObessionBy CustomerSurely, , returned from the grave, would be less shocked by jet airplanes than by his renown in a world peopled by a huge number of humans far removed from his world. His genius is at the root of his fame, but he might be much less well remembered but for dedicated contemporaries who sought to ensure the survival of his work by means of the First Folio. This is the story of the book and it's most successful collector.One important point the author makes clear is that virtually every copy is unique as a result of how the books were created and their subsequent histories. The core of Henry Folger's collection mania was to possess every copy. Incredibly, the library he created contains about 42 percent of the known copies. His compulsive collecting makes for exciting reading cataloging his successes, setbacks and occasional failures. Gracefully written and based on impressive knowledge of the people and times involved, this is a delightful book.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Tracking the BardBy Christian SchlectAn interesting, well researched, and favorable history of the man who assembled the books, manuscripts, and other treasures now contained in the Folger Shakespeare Library. How William Shakespeare's plays were first preserved; how Henry Folger made his money in the oil business; how book collectors went about their pursuits in the early part of the last century; and how Mr. and Mrs. Folger arranged to have built for our our nation the fine institution that now sits on Capitol Hill are all interwoven threads of this fine tapestry of a tale.I found this book to be superior to that of last year's effort on the same general subject by Stephen Grant.My wish for Professor Mays' second book would be a collaborative effort with her husband, a fine Lincoln scholar, on the influence of William Shakespeare on Abraham Lincoln.

The miraculous and romantic story of Shakespearersquo;s First Folio, and of the American industrialist whose thrilling pursuit of the book became a lifelong obsession: ldquo;Maysrsquo;s narrative is so fast-moving, and peppered with such fascinating detail, it almost reads like a thrillerrdquo; (Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A).When Shakespeare died in 1616, half of his plays died with him. No onemdash;not even their authormdash;believed that his writings would last. In 1623, seven years after his death, Shakespearersquo;s business partners, companions, and fellow actors gathered copies of his plays and manuscripts and published thirty-six of them. This massive book, the First Folio, was intended as a memorial to their deceased friend. They could not have known that it would become one of the most important books ever published in the English language. Over two and a half centuries later, a young man fresh out of law school, Henry Folger, bought a book at auctionmdash;a later, 1685 edition Fourth Folio, for $107.50. It was the beginning of an obsession that would consume the rest of his life. Folger rose to be president of , and he used his fortune to create the greatest Shakespeare collection in the world. By the time he died, Folger owned more First Folios than anyone and had founded the Folger Shakespeare Library, where his collection still resides. In The Millionaire and the Bard, Andrea Mays spins the tale of Shakespeare and of his collector, of the genius whose work we nearly lost, the men who had the foresight to preserve it, and the millionaire who, centuries later, was consumed by his obsession with it. ldquo;Effortless in its unadorned storytelling and exacting in its research, this is a page-turning detective storyrdquo; (Publishers Weekly). ldquo;The Millionaire and the Bard weaves a thrilling tale of literary detective work, high financial stakes, and the vision of one man, Henry Folger, to preserve one of the great written treasures of civilization. A splendid debut by Andrea Mays.rdquo; mdash;Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana and A World on Fireldquo;The Millionaire and the Bard is a riveting narrative history about Shakespeare taking root in America. Every page sparkles with crisp prose and smart insights. I find myself cheering for Henry Folger to procure the treasured First Folios. Highly recommended!rdquo; mdash;Douglas Brinkley, author of Cronkiteldquo;A fascinating account of Henry Clay Folgerrsquo;s obsession with the Shakespeare First Folio. Folger amassed the collection he had dreamed out, and it is now one of the greater glories of the library in Washington, D.C., that bears his name. The achievement is all the more extraordinary in that Folger was not born into a wealthy family or privileged class. Now the full story has been told in splendid detail by Andrea Mays.rdquo; mdash;David Bevington, author Shakespeare and Biography and editor of The Complete Works of Shakespeareldquo;[Mays] honorably resurrects this affluent, rapacious eccentric who became wholly consumed with the acquisition of a priceless bonanza of Shakespeariana. A methodical opuscomprising intensive memoir and inquisitive investigation.rdquo; mdash;Kirkus sldquo;Effortless in its unadorned storytelling and exacting in its research. hellip; The book is evocative in its characterizations of both the deified bard and dedicated bibliophile, finding its structure in the parallels between these two ambitious yet mysterious men. hellip; ldquo;[A] pagendash;turning detective story [that] speaks to anyone with a love of literary history.rdquo; mdash;Publishers Weeklyldquo;Maysrsquo; first book is utterly enthralling thanks to her deep sympathy with the Folgers and her fascinated, unstuffy prose.rdquo; mdash;Booklist (starred review)ldquo;Fascinating hellip; illuminating hellip; poignant. hellip; Recommended for all book lovers, Shakespeare fans, and anyone interested in America's Gilded Age.rdquo; mdash;Library Journalldquo;A love story . . . Fun and even suspenseful . . . Awell-researched and surprisingly engrossing account.rdquo; mdash;The Wall StreetJournalldquo;Riveting . . . Engaging . . . An American love story.rdquo;mdash;Stephen Greenblatt, The New York Times Book ldquo;[Mays] book does a fine job of discussing how Folger went about acquiring his treasures and what those treasures were and why they are important in literary history . . . a really interesting book.rdquo; mdash;The Chicago Tribune ldquo;The Millionaire and the Bard, Andrea Maysrsquo; labor-of-love history of the Shakespearersquo;s First Folio and of Standard Oil executive Henry Folgerrsquo;s obsession to acquire every possible copy . . . gives an exacting and very readable account of how the folio came to be mdash; and how easily it might not have been.rdquo; mdash;Dallas Morning Newsldquo;Captivating [and] fascinating. hellip; A great story, wonderfully told, that book lovers, readers and collectors will savor.rdquo; mdash;Shelf Awarenessldquo;Snappy [and] enjoyablerdquo; mdash;NPRAbout the AuthorAndrea E. Mays has degrees in economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton and from UCLA, and teaches economics at California State University at Long Beach. Like Henry Folger, she is a native New Yorker and has had a lifelong Shakespeare obsession. She spent much of her Manhattan girlhood in the New York Public Library listening to vinyl LP recordings of performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Millionaire and the Bard is her first book.Excerpt. copy; Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.The Millionaire and the Bard Prologue ldquo;He was Not of an Age, but for All Time!rdquo; mdash;BEN JONSON IT STARTED, as many great obsessions do, with an unremarkable incident, an encounter between a man and a book. It happened during the Gilded Age, in . Henry Clay Folger was a recent graduate of Columbia Law School living in rented rooms, working as a clerk at a local oil refinery, and trying to make his way in the world. He walked into Bangrsquo;s auction gallery in Manhattan with, as he later admitted, ldquo;fear and trepidation.rdquo;1 The books to be sold that day overflowed from the shelves. As an undergraduate at Amherst College he had studied literature, including Shakespeare, whose plays he ldquo;readnbsp;.nbsp;.nbsp;. far into the night.rdquo;2 He had continued reading for pleasure ever since. He saved every book he ever read. He had always been a collector. At college, he made scrapbooks for his most trivial ephemera, including theater and lecture tickets. But his hoarderrsquo;s impulse was still in search of a grand obsession. Henry had never bought a rare book. The closest he had ever come was when he purchased a gift for his young wife. She shared his literary enthusiasm, so he had bought her an inexpensive facsimile of the First Folio of the collected plays of William Shakespeare. He had never seen a real one. The old book that caught his eye at Bangrsquo;s was not, however, a coveted First Folio published in 1623, but to his amateurrsquo;s eye it seemed close. It was an authentic Fourth Folio, printed in 1685; it was a less valuable edition than a First. Its antiquity excited his fancy. He bid on the book until the auctioneer hammered it down to him for $107.50. He asked if he could pay in installments. When he took it home, he and his wife gazed at the familiar engraving of Shakespeare on the title page. They turned the thick, durable rag paper pages, and savored the familiar words of the plays they both loved, and which they had read many times before in cheap, modern editions. Holding that old book in his hands changed Henry Folgerrsquo;s life, just as the publication of its first edition more than two hundred fifty years earlier had come to define its authorrsquo;s. Soon, Folger found himself in the thrall of obsession. The young man who could barely afford a hundred-dollar book would spend a yearrsquo;s salary for another one, and devote the rest of his life, and millions of dollars, to chasing the rare books he coveted. The apprentice clerk would rise in the world of Gilded Age titansmdash;John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Henry Huntingtonmdash;and join them in a frenzied competition for some of the rarest books in the world. Soon, he would own more volumes than he knew what to do with. They would overwhelm his shelves, his rented rooms, and then his home, and fill secret warehouses and storage lockers to their ceilings. Before long, Henry Folgerrsquo;s books would dominate his life. But in this ocean of books he prized one above all the others. Today, it is the most valuable book in the world. And, after the King James Bible, the most important. In October 2001, one of the First Folios sold at Christiersquo;s for more than six million dollars. No more than 750 copies were printed, and two-thirds of them have perished over the last 391 years. Around 244 of them survive, and most of those are incomplete. Shakespearersquo;s First Foliomdash;Folger wanted to own them all. As Victor Hugo wrote, ldquo;England has two books, one of which she has made, the other which has made hermdash;Shakespeare and the Bible.rdquo; Published in London in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, Tragedies revolutionized the language, psychology, and culture of Western civilization. Without the First Folio, published seven years after the playwrightrsquo;s death, eighteen iconic works, including Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, The Winterrsquo;s Tale, and The Tempest would have been lost. Recognizing that every folio was superficially the same book but that each surviving handmade copy was in fact unique with its own idiosyncratic typographical fingerprint, binding, and provenance, Folger decided that the only way to rediscover Shakespearersquo;s original intentions and languagemdash;what he called ldquo;The True Textrdquo;mdash;was to buy every copy he could find and subject it to meticulous comparative analysis. Believing that the mysteries of the folios could be fully understood only in the context of their time, he amassed an equally stupendous collection of artwork, books, letters, manuscripts, and antiquities from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. He wanted to own Shakespeare. And he did. He came to own more copies of the First Folio than anyone else in the world, more than even the British Library, the ultra-repository in Shakespearersquo;s homeland. Folger collected more than twice the number of copies known to exist in all of England. How this happened is more than the tale of one passionate bibliophile. It is a story of the Old World giving way to the New, of the power of modern economics and transatlantic trade, and of the irresistible democratization of taste. Everyone knows William Shakespeare. He was born in 1564, and died in April 1616. He wrote approximately thirty-nine plays3 and composed five long poems and 154 sonnets. He failed to publish his collected worksmdash;during his lifetime plays were considered ephemeral amusements, not serious literature. By the time of his death he was retired, was considered past his prime, and by the 1620s many of his plays were no longer regularly performed in theaters. No onemdash;not even Shakespeare himselfmdash;believed that his writings would last, that he was a genius, or that future generations would celebrate him as the greatest and most influential writer in the history of the English language. Harold Bloom has argued that Shakespeare transformed the nature of man and created modern consciousness. If that is so, then the First Foliomdash;not the works of Darwin, Marx, or Freudmdash;is the urtext of modernism. If the Bible is the book of God, then Shakespeare is the book of man on earth. We use the words he invented, we speak in his cadences, and we think in his imagery. The epitaph that fellow poet Ben Jonson penned for William Shakespeare proved to be prophetic: ldquo;He was not of an age, but for all time!rdquo; Without the First Folio, the evolution from poet to secular saint would have never happened, and the story of that book is an incredible tale of faith, friendship, loyalty, and chance. Today, few people realize how close the world came, in the aftermath of Shakespearersquo;s death, to losing half of his plays. Henry Clay Folger, however, remains one of the least-known industrial titans of his time. Folger, from the twilight years of the Gilded Age through the cometrsquo;s arc of the Roaring Twenties, built the greatest Shakespeare library in the world, transporting it across the Atlantic piece by piece and hoarding it in thousands of unopened shipping crates, locked away in secret New York warehouses. And yet his life remains curiously unexamined. He is a forgotten man. This is a story of resurrection, of a magical book and two men, an American millionaire and an English playwrightmdash;the man who coveted the First Folio, and the man who composed it.

[revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays PDF [revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays Epub [revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays Ebook [revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays Rar [revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays Zip [revYG.ebook] The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folgerrsquo;s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespearersquo;s First Folio By Andrea Mays Read Online