Acknowledgements

First, I would like to thank the many students who engaged patiently over decades with my thoughts on Shakespeare.

Secondly, I warmly thank the following James Cook University staff who contributed essential ideas and expertise to the making of Shakespeare’s Major Plays.

• The suggestion to develop a Shakespeare Pressbook came from Ms Bronwyn Mathiesen, Deputy Director, Research and Learning Services, James Cook University Library.
• My friends Dr Claire Brennan, Senior Lecturer in History, and Ms Claire Ovaska, Open Education Project Specialist, provided encouragement and invaluable guidance. Claire Brennan’s Pressbook, Beyond Cook: Explorers of Australia and the Pacific, was a most helpful model.
• Associate Professor Victoria Kuttainen, of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, read first drafts and approved Shakespeare’s Major Plays as suitable for literature students.
• Ms Sharon Bryan, Digital Literacies and Learning Librarian, made astute suggestions for improving structure and presentation.
• Ms Annette Messell, Research and Learning Librarian and Ms Jodie Shepherd, Librarian, for their assistance with H5P and helpful suggestions.
• Ms Christia Heath, Liaison Librarian, for her attention to detail and effort beta reading this book.
• Ms Amber Swayn, Library Operations Coordinator, for her cover design and work behind the scenes promoting this book.
• Ms Alice Luetchford and Dr Deborah King, Open Education Librarians, for their behind-the-scenes magic, and Ms Sara Boyle, Open Education Content Librarian for her assistance.
• Above all, I would like to thank Dr Kezia Perry, College of Arts, Society and Education Liaison Librarian, the Editor of this Pressbook, for combining knowledge of Shakespeare with an understanding of digital media. Thank you for your patience, Kezia—this Pressbook would not have happened without your ideas and guidance.

As an optional postscript, I’d like to thank my little dog Darcy, who slept on my feet throughout the composition, and as a result knows as much about three of Shakespeare’s plays as almost anyone!