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Author Scheil, Katherine West, 1966-

Title She hath been reading : women and Shakespeare clubs in America / Katherine West Scheil
Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2012

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Description 1 online resource (xix, 235 pages) : illustrations
Contents Reading -- The home -- The outpost -- Shakespeare and black women's clubs
Summary 'In the late nineteenth century hundreds of clubs formed across the United States devoted to the reading of Shakespeare. From Pasadena, California, to the seaside town of Camden, Maine; from the isolated farm town of Ottumwa, Iowa, to Mobile, Alabama, on the Gulf coast, Americans were reading Shakespeare in astonishing numbers and in surprising places. Composed mainly of women, these clubs offered the opportunity for members not only to read and study Shakespeare but also to participate in public and civic activities outside the home. In She Hath Been Reading, Katherine West Scheil uncovers this hidden layer of intellectual activity that flourished in American society well into the twentieth century. Shakespeare clubs were crucial for women's intellectual development because they provided a consistent intellectual stimulus (more so than was the case with most general women's clubs) and because women discovered a world of possibilities, both public and private, inspired by their reading of Shakespeare. Indeed, gathering to read and discuss Shakespeare often led women to actively improve their lot in life and make their society a better place. Many clubs took action on larger social issues such as women's suffrage, philanthropy, and civil rights. At the same time, these efforts served to embed Shakespeare into American culture as a marker for learning, self-improvement, civilization, and entertainment for a broad array of populations, varying in age, race, location, and social standing. Based on extensive research in the archives of the Folger Shakespeare Library and in dozens of local archives and private collections across America, She Hath Been Reading shows the important role that literature can play in the lives of ordinary people. As testament to this fact, the book includes an appendix listing more than five hundred Shakespeare clubs across America."--The dust-jacket flaps
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Subject Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Appreciation -- United States -- History
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Societies, etc.
SUBJECT Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Societies, etc
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Appreciation -- United States -- History
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 fast
Shakespeare, William 1564-1616 gnd
Shakespeare, William. idszbz
Umschulungswerkstätten für Siedler und Auswanderer Bitterfeld gnd
Subject Book clubs (Discussion groups) -- United States -- History
Women -- United States -- Societies and clubs -- History
Women -- Books and reading -- United States -- History
Women -- United States -- Intellectual life
LITERARY CRITICISM -- Shakespeare.
DRAMA -- English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh.
Art appreciation
Book clubs (Discussion groups)
Societies
Women -- Books and reading
Women -- Intellectual life
Women -- Societies and clubs
Rezeption
Buchgemeinschaft
Frau
Frauenbewegung
Geistesleben
Rezeption.
Buchgemeinschaft.
United States
USA.
Genre/Form Electronic books
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 0801464226
9780801464225