It is unique in using social policy, anthropology and economics, as well as close readings of Shakespeare, to show how a text from the past becomes part of contemporary culture and how Shakespeare's writing informs modern ideas of cultural value. It goes beyond the twentieth-century cultural studies debates that argued the case for and against Shakespeare's status, to show how Shakespeare can exist both as a free artistic resource and as a branded product in the cultural marketplace.
It will appeal not only to scholars studying Shakespeare, but also to educators and any reader interested in contemporary cultural policy.