On behalf of the Editorial Board of Shakespeare Studies, I would like to inform our readership that Leeds Barroll has decided to step down as Editor of the journal with the publication of this volume.
Forty years ago, Leeds founded Shakespeare Studies as a journal about Shakespeare and his milieu for teachers, actors, and directors as well as research scholars. Early on, he decided that Shakespeare Studies would feature the work of an international community of literary critics and historians and would provide a unique venue for substantial reviews and review essays of important books in the field.
Under his stewardship, the journal has actively supported new directions in the profession, publishing, for example, some of the first work in feminist criticism. In recent volumes, Shakespeare Studies has expanded to include articles and reviews on significant intellectual and historical events on the continent; on global issues pertaining to England, in particular its relationship to the Near and the Far East; and on theoretical works relevant to the critical analysis of early modern culture.
Volume XXXII readily attests to this diversity. Notably, it continues a series on “Early Modern Drama Around the World” that Leeds introduced in the last volume. Here, specialists in non-British theatrical traditions during the time of Shakespeare discuss the state of scholarly study in their respective areas. Previously, contributors offered commentaries on the dramas of the late Ming period in China and the Golden Age in Spain; the current volume includes essays on Japanese theatre during the time of Shakespeare, and on the theater of early modern France.
Volume XXXII also features another in the journal’s series of Forums, entitled “The Future of Manuscript Studies.” Organized and introduced by Peter Beal, English Manuscripts Expert and a Director at Sotheby’s, this Forum includes contributions by four scholars who have worked extensively with early modern manuscripts. Volume XXXII contains, in addition, eight full-length articles focusing . . .
