WHEREFORE ART THOU?

Shakespeare First Folio Found

In library in small French town.

See, libraries are still valuable. One of the most important books in English literature, an original copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, was found this fall in a library in the small town of St. Omer in France. It is one of only 233 surviving first folios of his plays, and will hopefully unlock the playwright’s intentions. “This is huge,” said Eric Rasmussen, an American Shakespeare expert who traveled to France over the weekend to authenticate the volume. “First folios don’t turn up very often, and when they do, it’s usually a really chewed up, uninteresting copy. But this one is magnificent.” This First Folio, published in 1623, seven years after his death, had 36 of Shakespeare’s 38 known plays. Each original copy that has been found is slightly different, and scholars look to those to try to discover details about Shakespeare’s writing.