Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare (1970) by Isaac Asimov is a two-volume guide to the works of the celebrated English writer William Shakespeare. The numerous maps were drafted by the artist Rafael Palacios. The work gives a short guide to every Shakespeare play, as well as two epic poems. Asimov organizes the plays not in the usual way — as tragedies, comedies, and histories — but regionally, as follows: The last two categories are treated broadly; 'Italian' applies to neighbouring countries, and both "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" are listed with 'The English Plays'. Asimov gives a detailed justification
Shakespeare in performance the stage in order to appeal to the educated middle class. Charles Kean was particularly interested in historical context and spent many hours researching historical dress and setting for his productions. This faux-Shakespearean style was fixed until the 20th century. As of the twenty-first century, there are very few productions of Shakespeare, both on stage and on film, which are still performed in "authentic" period dress, while as late as 1990, virtually every true film version of a Shakespeare play was performed in correct period costume. The first film in English to break this pattern was 1995's "Richard III" which