Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; 1. Introduction: The drama of questions and the mystery of Hamlet; Part I. The Women in Black: 2. Playing Hamlet, writing the self; 3. 'Is this womanly?'; 4. Virile spirits: Sarah Bernhardt and her inheritance; Part II. Case Studies: Hamlet, the Actress and the Political Stage: 5. 'I am whom I play': Asta Nielsen; 6. 'Why are you looking at me like that?': Zinaida Raikh; 7. Behind the arras, through the Wall: Poland 1989; 8. Hamlet from the margins: Spain, Turkey, Ireland; Part III. Repression and Resurgence: 9. Films and fictions: Hamlet, men's eyes and the ages of woman; 10. Women's voices in the cathedral of culture; 11. Beyond silence, imagination; Index.

Promotional Information

A study of actresses playing the role of Hamlet on stage and screen.

About the Author

Tony Howard is Senior Lecturer in the English Department at the University of Warwick.

Reviews

'This masterly study is encyclopaedic in its coverage of the history of both theatre and film, extraordinary in the international breadth of its coverage, sophisticated in its treatment of both governmental and sexual politics, and at every point deeply thoughtful and critically engaged.' Professor Stanley Wells '... fascinating study ... exciting book ...' Professor Dr Dieter Mehl 'Tony Howard's rich, informative and highly readable study, Women as Hamlet, is an account of the fascinating 'Shakesepearean subculture' of women who were not content to play Ophelia or Gertrude ...' Times Literary Supplement 'This beautifully written study of women assuming the title role takes what might appear to be one single cultural phenomenon and finds a multiplicity of motives and insights resulting from 19th-century performances ...' Plays International