Stealing Shakespeare
In 1998, a copy of the most important printed work in the English language; the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare’s plays, was snatched from Durham University. Ten years later, an eccentric book dealer tried to convince the world that he didn’t steal it. This is the inside story of how one man’s encounter with a First Folio turned into a drama of Shakespearian proportions. It takes a confident conman to try to fool the world’s Shakespeare experts, but that’s what 53 year-old book dealer Raymond Scott allegedly tried to do when he walked into Washington DC’s Folger Shakespeare Library (the worlds leading authority on Shakespeare), intent on authenticating the book had been given by his Cuban girlfriend’s family. In Stealing Shakespeare we uncover the extraordinary story behind the book, how librarians and rare book experts turned detective to help solve uncover clues to the book’s true identity.
