King Charles II and the Beaumont and Fletcher Folio

Discover an extraordinary new acquisition at this free online talk. The Brotherton Library has acquired King Charles II’s copy of the 1647 folio ‘Comedies and Tragedies’ by Beaumont and Fletcher.

Dr José Pérez Díez will introduce this landmark book which features 34 plays by English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. The folio was published during the English Civil War, just two years before the execution of Charles I. Join us to discover more about the extraordinary copy that the Brotherton Library has added to its remarkable collection of seventeenth-century English drama.

This iconic book was the third great English collection of plays published in folio after the publication of Ben Jonson’s Works in 1616 and Shakespeare’s First Folio in 1623.

The Brotherton Library copy bears on its cover the coat of arms of Charles II, then Prince of Wales, who had left the country in disguise around the time of the volume’s publication. It was probably presented to him in exile, and it is the most important copy in existence.

This event will be hosted online on Zoom. The joining link will be emailed to registered attendees one day before the start time.