In Cymbeline , Ancient Britain's female heir to the throne is slandered by a decadent Italian while the Romans invade Britain to retain it as part of their empire. Shakespeare's late romance is full of unpredictable conjunctions that are explored in the comprehensive introduction to this new, fully-illustrated Arden edition. Valerie Wayne takes a transformative look at the play's critical and performance history by examining its attention to gender, calumny and sexuality together with nationhood, colonialism and British identities. The authoritative play text is amply annotated to clarify its language and allusions, and three appendices delineate the play's textual history, its rich use of music and its casting. Offering students and scholars alike a wealth of insight and new research, this edition maintains the rigorous standards of the Arden Shakespeare. “Richly detailed … a pleasure to read and [lives] up to the best Arden Shakespeare tradition.” ― Sederi Yearbook “Valerie Wayne's edition of Cymbeline maintains the series' commitment to top-notch editorial apparatus, commentary, and glosses … Scholars, graduate students, and anyone wanting more advanced context for the play will welcome the magisterial work that has gone into this Arden revamp … This update to Cymbeline represents a major and long-needed step forward for one of Shakespeare's most complicated, intriguing, and often-difficult plays. Wayne had produced a massively useful edition and another essential entry into a series that serves in many ways as the golden standard for modern editorial scholarship. Thorough editions such as this remind us all how essential scholarly editorial work is.” ― Sixteenth Century Journal “Wayne's sensitive introduction to the new Arden Cymbeline offers a complex interweaving of the mythical, historical, and national associations ... The text is well presented and justified.” ― Shakespeare Survey “The new addition to Arden's third series is an engaging and accessible Cymbeline that feels both fresh and grounded, notable for its sincere appreciation of, and elaboration on, an often maligned and very confusing play.” ― Archiv für das Studium der neuren Sprachen und Literaturen “A reliable, scholarly text with accessible and erudite apparatus and paratextual material.” ― Dr Mary Newbould, University of Cambridge, UK A major new edition of one of Shakespeare's late plays William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English dramatist, poet, and actor, generally regarded as the greatest playwright of all time. Valerie Wayne is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Hawai'i, in Honolulu, USA. Professor Richard Proudfoot served as Senior General Editor of the Arden Shakespeare for 35 years, until his retirement from King's in 1999. In 2001 The Arden Shakespeare published Proudfoot's Shakespeare: Text, Stage and Canon a critical overview of the scholarly achievements made in the field of Shakespeare studies by the end of the twentieth century. ANN THOMPSON is Emeritus Professor in English at King' s College London UK. David Scott Kastan is the George M. Bodman Professor of English at Yale University, USA.