Shakespeare for Freedom presents a powerful, plausible and political argument for Shakespeare's meaning and value. It ranges across the breadth of the Shakespeare phenomenon, offering a new interpretation not just of the characters and plays, but also of the part they have played in theatre, criticism, civic culture and politics. Its story includes a glimpse of 'Freetown' in Romeo and Juliet, which comes to life in the 1769 Stratford Jubilee; the Shakespearean careers of the Leicester Chartist, Cooper, and the Hungarian hero, Kossuth; Hegel's recognition of Shakespearean freedom as the modern breakthrough; its fatal effects in America; the disgust it inspired in Tolstoy; its rehabilitation by Ted Hughes, and its obscure centrality in the 2012 Olympics. Ultimately, it issues a positive Shakespearean prognosis for freedom as a vital (in both senses), unending struggle. Shakespeare for Freedom shows why Shakespeare has mattered for four hundred years, and why he still matters today. ‘Professor Fernie's exhilarating new book is a timely and rigorous reminder of the political and philosophical potency and daring of both the characters and the plays. A passionate and compelling call to remember Shakespeare's radical credentials. A rich and fascinating tour of historical and contemporary encounters with Shakespeare's words and meanings, which should inspire scholars and theatre-makers alike to treat him once again as a liberating spirit, an existential provocateur and a playwright for our times.’ Erica Whyman, Deputy Artistic Director and Director of The Other Place, Royal Shakespeare Company ‘Ewan Fernie’s book rescues freedom from the impoverished, and blatantly ideological, uses to which it is all too often put - and shows how central Shakespeare has been to the history of true modern freedom. A scholar of great honesty, dialectical seriousness, and historical range, Fernie eloquently demonstrates that Shakespeare remains a powerful resource for anyone committed to both individual and collective liberty.’ Peter Holbrook, Chair, International Shakespeare Association ‘Ewan Fernie's writing is, as always, invigorating and original, powerful and thoughtful. In familiar areas, he always has much that is new to say. In unfamiliar ones, he sends us off, eager to read what intrigues him.' Peter Holland, McMeel Family Professor in Shakespeare Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 'While the cultural ubiquity of Shakespeare silently reinforces the liberal humanist assumption that these plays have survived because of their inherent or transcendent value, Fernie bravely, like the boy wondering out loud about the emperor’s new clothes, dares to ask, ‘What good is Shakespeare?’ As every barrister knows, never ask a question to which you don’t know the answer and fortunately, here, it is not long in coming: ‘Shakespeare means freedom’. Fernie’s scope is magisterial and panoramic; freedom is assessed in relation to David Garrick’s Jubilee of 1769, the 19th-century Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth, the Leicester Chartist Thomas Cooper, the philosophy of Hegel, the suffragettes, and the Shakespearean influence on Goethe, Freud, John Moriarty and Ted Hughes. … The parting shot of this compelling book maintains the plays ‘are politically unstable, always in process. What we do or do not make of them, in contemporary life and politics, is our responsibility’.' The Times Higher Education 'Fernie writes clearly and passionately, combining deep learning and theoretical sophistication with an intimate colloquial style. … the book is ultimately able to reanimate a progressive political Shakespeare without relying on easy answers or obscuring the darker undercurrents of Shakespearean freedom.' The Times Literary Supplement 'The Trumpian Caesar in Central Park takes his place in a long line of reflections of real-life leaders and despots in Shakespeare productions. Into this controversy wades Ewan Fernie of the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, with a timely new study, Shakespeare for Freedom: Why the Plays Matter. Over nine chapters, Fernie pays homage to Shakespeare’s creations and to the real-life figures who drew inspiration from the Bard in their aspirations and struggles for freedom …' Santa Fe New Mexican 'A serious and at times exhilarating attempt to rescue Shakespeare from the sort of obligatory respectfulness that accrues to ubiquity. As with the Beatles, it's often easy to forget the radical nature of Shakespeare's work. Fernie is bent on demonstrating Shakespeare's continuing vitality and usefulness in the world. Fernie sees Shakespeare as 'deep therapy' for the culture, stressing the ever-changing nature of how we relate to them: 'Shakespearean character is always made in interaction, as well as before an audience.' This dynamic nature cuts both ways. So Fernie leaves us with a warning: 'The plays … are not in any simple way utopian. They are politically unstable, always