Bard serves up surprise with rare book find

A researcher in Spain investigating the work of Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith has stumbled across a rare edition of the last play written by William Shakespeare, dating back to 1634.

The volume containing the play The Two Noble Kinsmen, written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, was found by John Stone from the University of Barcelona in a collection of books from the library of the old Real Colegio de Escoceses, the Royal Scots College, which is now in the western Spanish city of Salamanca.

"It is likely these plays arrived as part of some student's personal library or at the request of the rector of the Royal Scots College, Hugh Semple, who was friends with the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega and had more plays in his personal library," said Stone.

The play, set in ancient Greece, is believed to have been co-written with Fletcher, who was part of Shakespeare's theater company the King's Men, in around 1614, two years before Shakespeare died.

Archive performances

It was performed at Shakespeare's Globe theater in London in 2018 and earlier this year. The production was one of the archive performances made available to watch online during lockdown.

It is based on The Knight's Tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th century collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales, and the Royal Shakespeare Company describes it as a tragicomedy where "friendship turns to rivalry in this study of the intoxication and strangeness of love", as two close friends become fierce rivals after falling in love with the same woman.

Originally the Royal Scots College was a training school for priests. Today it is still partly involved in that function, but also serves as a venue for retreats and religious gatherings.

"To think that plays would have been read, and possibly performed at that time is quite exciting. There was clearly a great interest in Spain at that time in English literature," said Tom Kilbride, the current rector.

Stone, a Canadian who had previously worked as a researcher at Aberdeen University and the National Library of Scotland, was looking for reviews of Smith's 18th century work The Wealth of Nations, some of which was translated by the-then college rector, when by chance he came across the Shakespeare work.

The volume is still in its original 17th century leather binding and was classified in the library under the heading philosophy.