To inspire the writer, this unique William Shakespeare Journal provides excerpts from Shakespeare's contribution to the banned play, Sir Thomas More. This "remixed reproduction", of the only surviving original manuscript, provides a glimpse into the creative process of a great mind. Ideal for writing your next manuscript, prose or poetry alike; the classic style of this journal brings freedom and distinction to any writer's form. This William Shakespeare Journal includes a memento pouch and a classic red satin ribbon marker. The cover style features a faux "Aged Leather" look, while easily mistaken for real leather, it is printed in an old-leather-like fashion. The ancient look becomes all the more pronounced with the intricate gold leaf details; making this one important book!

Back Cover View: William Shakespeare Journal. Front Cover View: "Aged Leather" journal. Journal Details Measuring 7 x 9 x .6 inches, our William Shakespeare Journal boasts Shakespeare's actual handwriting. This lined, blank, "Aged Leather" writing journal features fine reproductions from the original collaborative writing entitled Sir Thomas More. This banned play was originally written by the playwright team Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle, and was later heavily revised by another team of playwrights, including Thomas Heywood, Thomas Dekker, and by the prolific English author, Shakespeare (1564-1616) himself. Inside the journal are 144 softly lined, medium-ruled, archival quality, pH balanced, acid-free, lignin-free, cream colored pages; in the back is a handy memento accordion pouch. About the Journal's Cover and Spine The William Shakespeare Journal has carefully crafted decorative hardbound Smyth sewn covers sporting a faux "Aged Leather" look complete with delicate, curled, gold leaf front and back cover borders, gold embossed spine details, and a gilded inscription on the back cover which reads: William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Sir Thomas More–1595 Lifted from the only surviving manuscript of the banned play Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare's handwriting is artfully debossed onto the cover of the William Shakespeare Journal supporting the illusion that he wrote directly on the "Aged Leather" journal cover. Shakespeare's handwriting is, like most old English script, odd looking at first; its swirling exaggerated characters and abrupt pen strokes remind us of the great importance of the handwritten word. Scratches and scuff marks on the journal's cover are taken from real "Aged Leather" adding to the charm–worn edges make the journal feel like a great heirloom!

Above: Detailed Spine View More on the Shakespeare and Thomas More Shakespeare, long considered the greatest of the great English writers, has left us but few traces of his handwriting. The banned play, Sir Thomas More (1595), was written and revised by five different playwrights of which Shakespeare was believed to be one. Most scholars now accept that three manuscript pages of the play were handwritten by him. The rarely preformed Sir Thomas More is an extraordinary play, however with 59 speaking parts calling for crowd scenes it is a very challenging play to stage. Political censorship of this banned play as well as stagecraft concerns demanded that it be rewritten by so many. Disgusted by governmental and religious intolerances in England, at the time, Shakespeare's contributions to this banned play include a passionate defense of displaced people and refugees. The journal includes parts of the following excerpts taken from Shakespeare's own contribution to the play: MORE. Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise Hath chid down all the majesty of England; Imagine that you see the wretched strangers, Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage, Plodding tooth ports and costs for transportation, And that you sit as kings in your desires, Authority quite silent by your brawl, And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I'll tell you: you had taught How insolence and strong hand should prevail, How order should be quelled; and by this pattern Not one of you should live an aged man, For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought, With self same hand, self reasons, and self right, Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes Would feed on one another. MORE. Nay, certainly you are; For to the king God hath his office lent Of dread, of justice, power and command, Hath bid him rule, and willed you to obey; And, to add ampler majesty to this, He hath not only lent the king his figure, His throne and sword, but given him his own name, Calls him a god on earth. What do you, then, Rising gainst him that God himself installs, But rise against God? what do you to your souls In doing this? O, desperate as you are, Wash your foul minds with tears, and those same hands, That you like rebels lift against the peace, Lift up for peace, and your unreverent knees, Make them your feet to kneel to be forgiven! Tell me but this: what rebel captain, As mutinies are incident, by his name Can still the rout? who will obey a traitor? Or how can well that proclamation sound, When there is no addition but a rebel To qualify a rebel? You'll put down strangers, Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses, And lead the majesty of law in line, To slip him like a hound. Say now the king (As he is clement, if th' offender mourn) Should so much come to short of your great trespass As but to banish you, whether would you go? What country, by the nature of your error, Should give you harbor? go you to France or Flanders, To any German province, to Spain or Portugal, Nay, any where that not adheres to England,– Why, you must needs be strangers: would you be pleased To find a nation of such barbarous temper, That, breaking out in hideous violence, Would not afford you an abode on earth, Whet their detested knives against your throats, Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God Owed not nor made not you, nor that the claimants Were not all appropriate to your comforts, But chartered unto them, what would you think To be thus used? this is the strangers case; And this your mountanish inhumanity.

About the Paper
Lovely, smooth, acid-free, lignin-free, extra-thick, cream colored pages fill the "Aged Leather" journal; this along with a superior binding method, give our book a long term archival survivability of over 100 years! The inside paper is superiorly engineered, and suited for all writing instruments such as: ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, gel pens, marker pens, technical pens, fountain pens, and pencils; writing in this journal is exceptionally smooth. Bleed through is not a problem as the paper is 5.5 mil thick!

Detailed View: Using the Memento Accordion Pouch.

Memento Accordion Pouch
A large memento accordion pouch, in the back of the journal, is ideal for storing odds-and-ends, money, your passport, theater tickets, a small booklet, family photos, and whatever else you want to tuck away–so very handy! While this 8.5 x 6 inch, cloth gusseted, memento accordion pouch expands to a full 1.5 inches at its opening, and is technically large enough to fit a whole tuna sandwich, we don't recommend using your journal as a replacement for a lunch box, as your lunch would get smashed to the size of a pancake–enjoy!

Cover images from the banned play manuscript Sir Thomas More by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle and heavily revised by Thomas Heywood, Thomas Dekker, and Shakespeare; image courtesy British Library, United Kingdom