In a fitted Box. Three volumes with blue cloth binding and gilt title on the spine. Black and gilt feathers on the front boards.

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                           A superb well kept rare Folio Edition

Three volumes are clean and tight in a single grey card slipcase. An attractive FS presentation of Shakespeare history trilogy, with text from the New Temple edition and Glossary by Jean Rook. Introduction by Dame Peggy Ashcroft in v.1 with illustrations by Curtis of her costume designs for the 1964 Stratford productions. Catalogue: Shakespeare. Keywords: Pucelle, Roses, Talbot, Bolingbroke

So much has been argued over the centuries as to whether, in fact, Shakespeare wrote the Henry VI trilogy, how much he wrote it, and who else wrote it if he did not – even to parceling out different scenes to his contemporaries Thomas Nashe, Richard Greene, and George Peele. We could not presume to trespass on this scholar’s domain, and only dare to say that – apart from the fact that to a ‘mere player’ so much of all three plays sounds and feels like Shakespeare – it seems to me inconceivable that even Shakespeare’s genius could have reached the mastery of the later histories. This edition has a wonderfully detailed introduction and is lavishly illustrated throughout.

Henry IV, Part 1 (often written as 1 Henry IV) is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatizes part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at Homildon Hill late in 1402, and ending with King Henry’s victory in the Battle of Shrewsbury in mid-1403. In parallel to the political conflict between King Henry and a rebellious faction of nobles, the play depicts the escapades of King Henry’s son, Prince Hal (the future King Henry V), and his eventual return to court and favour.

Henry IV, Part 1 is the first of Shakespeare’s two plays which deal with the reign of Henry IV (the other being Henry IV, Part 2), and the second play in the Henriad, a modern designation for the tetralogy of plays that deal with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. From its first performance on, it has been an extremely popular work both with the public and critics.

In Shakespearean scholarship, the Henriad refers to a group of William Shakespeare’s history plays. It is sometimes used to refer to a group of four plays (a tetralogy), but some sources and scholars use the term to refer to eight plays. In the 19th century, Algernon Charles Swinburne used the term to refer to three plays, but that use is not current.

In one sense, Henriad refers to: Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V – with the implication that these four plays are Shakespeare’s epic, and that Prince Harry, who later becomes Henry V, is the epic hero. (This group may also be referred to as the “second tetralogy” or “second Henriad”.)

In a more inclusive meaning, Henriad refers to eight plays: the tetralogy mentioned above (Richard II; Henry IV, Part 1; Henry IV, Part 2; and Henry V), plus four plays that were written earlier, and are based on the civil wars now known as The Wars of the Roses – Henry VI, Part 1; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; and Richard III.