“Stick to Shakespeare and the Bible• They're the roots of civilisation”

[E]very year sees now three or four fresh impressions of [Shakespeare’s] works. They are of all sorts and sizes and prices…reproductions of old and scarce copies for the luxurious student, penny a week issues for the apprentice or artisan. And they all sell. No book that ever was printed—save one—has had a circulation so enormous, so increasing, so real. ¹