Inspired by Mary Shelley's conviction that reading is a socially significant communal activity, this book presents four essays on modern interactions with literary classics. Ancient tragedy, Shakespeare, and Frankenstein are read anew.
Anna Kwiatek received a master's degree in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, and the bachelor's degree in English Philology from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her interests include Shakespeare on page and stage, history of emotions as well as suicide and mental illness in the works of Renaissance authors. Marcelina Polczynska graduated with a BA in English Language and Literature from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and an MA in Literary Translation from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her academic interests pertain primarily to historical and political counter-narrativity in 20th and 21st century English-language literature, memory studies and posthumanism. Agnieszka Romanowska teaches history of English literature at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her research interests include literary and theatrical reception of Shakespeare, literary translation, and adaptation of literature. She has published books and articles on the theatrical potential of Shakespeare's dramatic text, Polish poet-translators and the history of Shakespeare's reception in Poland. She is member of the European Shakespeare Research Association. Wiktoria Wawrzynczyk is English Studies graduate and student of psychology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Her hobbies include role-playing original characters, dancing, creative introspection, reading and discussing literature.