Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, William John Thoms (1803 85) pursued literary and bibliographical interests and conversed with the likes of Thomas Macaulay and Charles Dickens. Most notably, he coined the term 'folklore' in 1846 and founded the scholarly periodical Notes and Queries in 1849. Having been published separately, these three essays on Shakespeare were brought together in this 1865 work. 'Shakespeare in Germany' (1840) spells out how German drama was influenced by English playwrights and by English actors performing plays in Germany from the late sixteenth century onwards....
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, William John Thoms (1803 85) pursued literary and bibliographical interests and conversed with the likes of Thom...