As early modernists with an interest in the literary culture of Shakespeare¿s time, we work in a field that contains many significant losses: of texts, of contextual information, of other forms of cultural activity. No account of early modern literary culture is complete without acknowledgment of these lacunae, and although lost drama has become a topic of increasing interest in Shakespeare studies, it is important to recognize that loss is not restricted to play-texts alone. Loss and the Literary Culture of Shakespeare¿s Time broadens the scope of the scholarly conversation about loss beyond drama and beyond London. It aims to develop further models and techniques for thinking about lost plays, but also of other kinds of lost early modern works, and even lost persons associated with literary and theatrical circles. Chapters examine textual corruption, oral preservation, quantitative analysis, translation, and experiments in ¿verbatim theater¿, plus much more.

Rethinks our understanding of what remains from the early modern playhouse and how we reconstruct the staging of early modern drama

1. Introduction: "Coping with Loss"; Roslyn L. Knutson, David McInnis, and Matthew Steggle.- 2. Shakespeare's Ruined Quires; Misha Teramura.- 3.Lost Playhouse Manuscripts; Paul Werstine.- 4. Richard Edwards' "Palamon and Arcyte" and the Semi-Textual Basis of Playing; Jeanne H. McCarthy.- 5. "I haue lost it": Apologies, Appeals, and Justifications for Misplacing The Wild-Goose Chase and Other Plays; Kara J. Northway.- 6. Like a Virgin: Lost and Reborn Ballads; Kris McAbee.- 7. Rediscovering Lost Literature in the Stationers' Company Register; Alexandra Hill.- 8. Lost Plays and Other Lost Things: Ways of Being Lost; William Ingram.- 9. Ludwig Becker's Shakespeare; Ian Donaldson.- 10. William Smith, "The Freeman's Honour," and the Lord Chamberlain's Men; David Kathman.- 11. They are all Fossils: A Palaeontology of Early Modern Drama; Matthew Steggle.- 12. "Histories out of the scriptures": Biblical Drama in the Repertory of the Admiral's Men, 1594-1603; Paul Whitfield White.- 13. MagicMirrors, Moors, and Marriage: A Lost English Play Surviving in German; David McInnis.- 14. Making Early Modern "Verbatim Theater," or, "Keep the Widow Waking"; Lucy Munro and Emma Whipday