I am grateful to Charles R. Forker for having seen virtue in this enterprise at the outset; to Harry Keyishian for his generous encouragement and probing questions that gave the book its focus; to June Schlueter for her impeccable editorial skills and scholarship; to Susan Cerasano for her valuable suggestions in the initial stages of this venture; and to Saleem Anwer, Deputy Librarian at Delhi University, for his professional help and courtesy.
An earlier version of my essay on “Shakespeare’s Ambivalence toward His Profession” appeared in The Shakespeare Newsletter, Winter 2006/07. I thank the editors of that journal for permission to reprint. For permission to quote from Walter de la Mare’s “Falstaff” in Mythili Kaul’s essay, I thank the Literary Trustees of Walter de la Mare and the Society of Authors as their Representative.