'Here in the elegant format emblematic of this collected edition ... is a play entitled King Edward III ... Giorgio Melchiori's introduction to the New Cambridge Edward III, together with the actual editorial presentation and appendix on the play's sources are models of learned scruple. What this superb edition compels us to keep asking is simply this: 'how did Shakespeare become Shakespeare?' Neither the history of literature nor of language provides a richer ground for wonder.' George Steiner, The Observer 'Anyone who reads through Edward III with an open mind will, I believe, accept that the Shakespeare canon is permanently enlarged. It is an exhilarating experience.' Contemporary Review

Introduction; Note on the text; List of characters; The text of The Reign of King Edward III, with commentary; Textual analysis; Appendix: the use of sources.