Literature

Chaucer and the Fifteenth Century

Bennett, H S

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1947

Publisher: Oxford at the Clarendon Press

Subjects covered: Chaucer; prose; verse; religion

Synopsis: Covering the works of Chaucer and other 15th century prose and verse. (Oxford History of English Literature, Vol 2, Part 1)

 

Entertainment and Ritual 600-1600

Bucknell, Peter A

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1979

ISBN: 085-249-444-0

Publisher: Stainer & Bell

Subjects covered: Plays; pageantry; tournaments; festivals

Synopsis: History of mystery and morality plays, pageantry, tournaments and country festivals.

 

‘Everyman’ and Medieval Miracle Plays

Cawley, A C (Editor)

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1988

Subjects covered: Mystery play cycles;

Synopsis: Text of ‘Everyman’ and 15 other plays from various mystery play cycles; some spelling modernised.

 

English Literature at the Close of the Middle Ages

Chambers, E K

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1948

Publisher: Oxford at the Clarendon Press

Subjects covered: Drama; poetry; Sir Thomas Mallory; carol; lyric; ballad

Synopsis: Essays on drama, poetry and the work of Sir Thomas Mallory. (Oxford History of English Literature, Vol 2, Part 2)

 

Richard III up to Shakespeare

Churchill, George Bosworth

Hardback (facsimile)

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1976

ISBN: 0904-387-054

Publisher: Alan Sutton

Subjects covered: Richard III; Shakespeare; chronicles; drama; poetry

Synopsis: Studies how Richard III was depicted in the chronicles, plays and poems available to
Shakespeare when he wrote his play.

 

A Commentary on Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’

Clemen, Wolfgang; Bonheim, Jean (Translator)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1968

Publisher: Methuen

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III

Synopsis: Very detailed scene by scene analysis of the play. (Translated from German).

 

Richard’s Himself Again: a stage history of ‘Richard III’

Colley, Scott

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1992

ISBN: 0313-262-934

Publisher: Greenwood Press

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; theatre

Synopsis: History of productions of Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’ in Britain and North America from the 18th century to date.

 

A Medieval Paying Audience: the station holders on the route of the York Corpus Christi play in the fifteenth century

Crouch, David J F

MA dissertation, York Univ.

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1990

Subjects covered: York Corpus Christi play;

Synopsis: Study of the records of those who paid to have the play performed in front of their houses and what they can tell us of the play, the route and the audience.

 

Filming Shakespeare’s Plays: the adaptations of Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Peter Brook and Akira Kurosawa

Davies, Anthony

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1990

ISBN: 0521-399-130

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Subjects covered: Richard III; Shakespeare; Laurence Olivier; film

Synopsis: Includes a chapter on Olivier’s ‘Richard III’.

 

The Age of Chaucer

Ford, Boris (Editor)

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1981

ISBN: 014-02-02-900

Publisher: Penguin Books

Subjects covered: Prose; drama; Chaucer; poetry; Spenser; society

Synopsis: Survey of poetry, prose and drama from Chaucer to Spenser; includes an anthology of medieval poems. (Volume 1 of the Pelican Guide to English Literature).

 

Richard III: Player King

Foster, Evelyn

MA dissertation, York Univ.

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1987

Subjects covered: Richard III; Shakespeare; Thomas More; theatre

Synopsis: Was Richard III typecast as the Villain: a study of the Vice in morality plays and the depiction of Richard III in the chronicles and in the works of Thomas More and Shakespeare.

 

Early Chroniclers of Europe: England

Gairdner, James

Hardback

Publisher: SPCK

Subjects covered: Chroniclers; Gildas; John Stowe; monasteries; records

Synopsis: Discussion of the chroniclers of England’s history from Gildas in the sixth century to John Stowe in the 16th, with brief extracts.

 

The Ghost of Richard III: a poem printed in 1614 and founded upon Shakespeare’s historical play

Collier, J Payne

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1844

Publisher: Not known but for The London Shakespeare Society

Subjects covered: Richard III; poetry; theatre

Synopsis: Introduction and notes by J. Payne Collier. Richard’s spirit recounts his evil deeds as a warning to others who might be tempted to follow his example.

NOTE: Book is too valuable to risk sending through the post – can be borrowed if personally collected and returned.

 

Historical Writing in England: Volume Two – c1307 to the early 16th century

GRANSDEN Antonia

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1982

ISBN: 07100-0480-X
Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Subjects covered: Historiography; chronicles; annals; biography; John Rous; Thomas More; Polydore Vergil

Synopsis: Detailed survey of medieval historiography: chronicles, annals and biographies, including chapters on John Rous, Thomas More and Polydore Vergil; also includes useful appendices.

 

Oxford Book of Late Medieval Verse and Prose

GRAY Douglas (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1985

ISBN: 019-812-452-X

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Subjects covered: Ballads; romances; letters; chronicles; textbooks; grammar; spelling; Thomas More

Synopsis: Anthology of extracts from works written in English circa 1400 to 1520, in original spelling; including ballads, romances, letters, chronicles, textbooks, etc. Includes a note on grammar and spelling in the 15th century by Norman Davis.

 

Dictionnaire de L’Ancien Français Jusqu’au Milieu du XIV Siecle

Greimas A J

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1986

ISBN: 203-340-2061

Publisher: Larousse

Subjects covered: Old French; sources; fourteenth century

Synopsis: Dictionary of Old French to modern French.

 

Richard III and his Early Historians 1483-1535

Hanham, Alison

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1975

ISBN: 019-822-434-6
Publisher: Clarendon Press

Subjects covered: Richard III; Dominic Mancini; Thomas More; Polydore Vergil; historiography

Synopsis: Detailed examination of the sources for Richard III’s reign and reputation from Mancini to More.

 

Songs of Death: performance, interpretation and the text of Richard III

Hassel, R Chris

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1987

ISBN: 08032-2341-2

Publisher: Nebraska Press

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; play; theatre; Laurence Olivier; Antony Sher

Synopsis: Production analysis, stage history, traditional literary commentary and textual criticism.

 

A Medieval Miscellany

Herrin, Judith (Editor)

Hardback (facsimile)

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1999

ISBN: 0297-82483-X

Publisher: Weaden Feld & Nicolson

Subjects covered: Poetry; manuscripts; chronicles; fashion; birth; courtship; rape; dance

Synopsis: Extracts from poems, chronicles, romances, wills, letters etc. (all in modernised English) showing all aspects of medieval life, lavishly illustrated with colour pictures from medieval manuscripts; covering the 6th to 15th centuries.

 

English Historical Literature in the 15th Century

Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge

Hardback (facsimile)

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1972

ISBN: 08337-1926-2

Publisher: Burt Franklin

Subjects covered: Chronicles; letters; poetry; ballads; Thomas Walsingham; Henry V; House of York

Synopsis: Comprehensive survey of the literary sources for 15th century history, including chronicles, letters and poetry.

 

To Prove a Villain: the case of King Richard III

Littleton, Taylor (Editor); Rea, Robert R (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1964

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1989

Publisher: Macmillan Company (1964 & 1989)

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; Josephine Tey; Thomas More; Polydore Virgil; Crowland Chronicle; Holinshead; Roger Bacon; Walpole; Dickens

Synopsis: Shakespeare’s play and Tey’s novel The Daughter of Time in full, with extracts from other works, pro – and anti-Richard III from the 15th to 20th centuries.

 

The Works of Sir Thomas Malory

Malory, Thomas; Vinaver, E (Editor)

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1971

ISBN: 019-281-2173

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Subjects covered: Le Morte D’Arthur; Sir Thomas Malory; Caxton

Synopsis: Includes Le Morte D’Arthur written during the reign of Edward IV.

 

The Context of English Literature: the later Middle Age

Medcalf, Stephen (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1981

Synopsis: Sets the literature of the period in its political, historical and cultural context.

 

The Wycyf Tradition

Mudroch, Vaclav; Reeves, Albert Compton (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1979

ISBN: 08214-0403-2

Publisher: Ohio University Press

Subjects covered: John Wyclif

Synopsis: Reactions to the teachings and writings of John Wyclif from the 15th to the 18th century.

 

Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse

Pollard, Alfred W (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1964

Publisher: Cooper Square Publishers

Subjects covered: Poetry; prose; ballads; Caxton; law reports

Synopsis: Collection of poems, ballads, a miracle play and a morality play, Caxton prefaces, extracts from law reports, discourses on the art of translation etc. all in modern spelling.

 

‘King Richard III’

Richmond, Hugh M

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1989

ISBN: 07190-2723-3

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1991

ISBN: 07190-2724-1

Publisher: Manchester University Press (1989 & 1991)

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; theatre; BBC; Garrick; Cibber; Burbage; Royal Shakespeare Company; Anthony Sher

Synopsis: Comparison of significant productions: Shakespeare/Burbage, Cibber from Garrick to Olivier, Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘Wars of the Roses’ in 1964, BBC TV in 1983, Antony Sher and other modern versions.

 

Shakespeare’s Heroical Histories: ‘Henry VI’ and its literary tradition

Riggs, David

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1971

ISBN: 674-804-007

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Subjects covered: Elizabethan plays; Shakespeare; Richard III; Henry VI; Henry IV

Synopsis: Study of Elizabethan plays, especially ‘Henry VI’ and ‘Richard III’.

 

Secular Lyrics of the 14th and 15th Centuries

Robbins, Russell Hope (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1964

Publisher: Oxford at the Clarendon Press

Subjects covered: Poetry; popular songs; verse; lyrics; courtly love; Fourteenth Century; Fifteenth Century

Synopsis: Collection of 212 short poems, in original spelling, with an introduction, glossary and notes.

 

Shakespeare’s English Kings: history, chronicle and drama

Saccio, Peter

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1977

ISBN: 019-281-224-6

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; English kings; theatre

Synopsis: Brief account of English history during the reigns concerned, concentrating on the issues and people dramatised by Shakespeare.

 

Politics and Poetry in the Fifteenth Century

Scattergood, V J

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1971

ISBN: 07137-3608-9

Paperback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1971

ISBN: 07137-3628-3

Publisher: Blandford (both hardback and paperback)

Subjects covered: Politics, poetry; society; nationalism; clergy; religion; society; revolution

Synopsis: Ideas, attitudes and opinions about 15th century politics and society as they were expressed in contemporary verse, with many quotations in original spelling.

 

Richard III

Shakespeare, William; Hankey, Julie (Editor)

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1981

ISBN: 0389-201-847

Publisher: Barnes & Noble

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; theatre

Synopsis: Detailed introduction on the stage history of the play, setting major productions in their historical context, followed by the complete text of the play with notes on how characters and scenes have been played in the past productions.

 

Year of the King: an actor’s diary and sketchbook

Sher, Antony

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1985

ISBN: 07011-292-63

Publisher: Hogarth Press

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; Richard III; theatre

Synopsis: The actor’s account of his preparations to play the title role in Shakespeare’s Richard III.

 

A Dictionary of the Old English Language compiled from the Writings of the XII, XIII, XIV and XV

Stratmann, Francis Henry

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1878

Subjects covered: Old English language, dictionary

Synopsis: 3rd edition, 1878 in stock.

 

Shakespeare’s History Plays

Tillyward, E M W

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1944

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1962

Publisher: N/A

Subjects covered: Shakespeare; plays; theatre

Synopsis: Examines the plays and their sources and background.

 

Richard the Third: a poem

Turner, Sharon

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1845

Publisher: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans

Subjects covered: Richard III; Edward IV; poetry

Synopsis: Moralising poem, recounting events from the death of Edward IV up to the death of Richard’s son.

 

English Medieval Theatre 1400-1500

Tydeman, William

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1986

ISBN: 07100-98502

Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Subjects covered: Theatre; York; passion plays

Synopsis: Fascinating, well-illustrated re-constructions of how five different plays were staged: in an inn yard, a church yard, in the round, on pageant wagons and in a banqueting hall.

 

The Career of Richard III

Watson, Eileen

Hardback

Date of Pub/Reprint: 1925

Publisher: NG Wilson & Company

Subjects covered: Richard III; cartoon

Synopsis: Strip cartoon based on Shakespeare’s play.

 

 

Banner image of King Richard III’s Book of Hours (MS 474f. 7v) reproduced by kind permission of Lambeth Palace Library.