Shakespeare, William

The Life and Death of King Richard the Second [Bound with:] The First Part of Henry the Fourth [and with:] The Second Part of Henry the Fourth. London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, 1632

Folio (308 x 216 mm). 23-45; 46-73pp.; 74-100, [2]pp. Expertly bound to style in paneled calf, covers tooled in blind, upper cover giltℱ lettered.

From Shakespeare's second folio

Shakespeare's꧟ famed four folios comprise the first four editions of his collected plays, all printed in the 17th century. The second folio of 1632, like the first folio of 1623, contains 36 plays. It is es♔timated that fewer than 1,000 copies of the second folio were printed and fewer than 200 copies are in existence today.

"Richard IIജ" tells of the last two years of King Richard II's life, during which he becomes an irresponsible and corrupt ruler who banishes his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, after he accuses him and his associates of wasting money and killing his uncle. Henry returns with a vengeful plan to overthrow him, and the tale of power and treachery continues.

This play is bound with "Henry IV, Part I," and "Henry IV, Part 2." Following the rei🅰gn of King Henry the IV, these center&ꦿnbsp;on the conflict between Hotspur, his father, and his uncle, which culminates in the battle at Shrewsbury.

The Shakespeare Folios have "an aura of book magic about them. For a bibliophile it is a volume devoutly to be wished for and rarely♌ attained; to a library it is a crowning jewel of a collection. Shakespeare, indeed, is a name to conjure with. No lengthy explanations are needed; he is simply the m⛄ost distinguished author in the English language" (Wolf).

REFERENCE

STC 22274a; Greg III:1113-1116; Jaggard, 496; Pforzheimer 906; Wolf, Legacies of Genuis 36