When critical theory met literary studies in the 1970s and '80s, some of the most radical and exciting theoretical work centred on the quasi-sacred figure of Shakespeare. In Alternative Shakespeares, John Drakakis brought together key essays by founding figures in this movement to remake Shakespeare studies.

A new afterword by Robert Weimann outlines the extraordinary impact of Alternative Shakespeares on academic Shakespeare studies. But as yet, the Shakespeare myth continues to thrive both in Stratford and in our schools. These essays are as relevant and as powerful as they were upon publication and with a contributor list that reads like a 'who's who' of modern Shakespeare studies, Alternative Shakespeares demands to be read.

The book is even more a necessity than it was when it was first published by Methuen in 1985. Nobody has improved (in my view) on the deconstructions herein or gone significantly past the post-structuralist approaches put to work here. This is more than a milestone in Shakespearian criticism; it is a direction indicator.
- Chronique

The Editor, John Drakakis, is Professor of English Studies at the University of Stirling.