Deborah Cartmell is Professor of English, De Montfort University, UK. Her recent publications include Adaptations in the Sound Era: 1927-3, Teaching Adaptations, ed. and A Companion to Literature, Film and Adaptation. She is co-editor and founder of the international journals, Adaptation and Shakespeare and series editor of the Bloomsbury Adaptation Histories. Peter J. Smith is reader in Renaissance literature, Nottingham Trent University. He is the author of Social Shakespeare; Between Two Stools and co-editor of Hamlet: Theory and Practice. He is a trustee of the British Shakespeare Association. His essays and reviews have appeared in Cahiers Elisabethains, Critical Quarterly, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Bulletin, Shakespeare Survey, Times Higher Education.

• Series IntroductionTimelineIntroduction: Deborah Cartmell (De Montfort University, UK) and Peter J. Smith (Nottingham Trent University, UK)The Critical Backstory: Alison Findlay (Lancaster University, UK)Performance History: Kathryn Prince (University of Ottawa, Canada)The State of the Art: Elinor Parsons (De Montfort University, UK)New Directions: Vile Tales in Much Ado About Nothing: Duncan Salkeld (University of Chichester, UK)New Directions: Much Ado About Aging: Liz Schafer (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK)New Directions: Much Ado or Love’s Labour’s Won? Does it Matter Which?: Lois Potter (University of Delaware, USA)New Directions: YouTube Much Ado: Christy Desmet (University of Georgia, USA)'How apt it is to learn': Resources for Staging, Studying, and Teaching Much Ado About Nothing: Brett Hirsch (University of Western Australia) and Sarah Neville (Ohio State University, USA)BibliographyIndex

A commendably comprehensive guide to textual and performance scholarship on the play.