The Bowdler Shakespeare 6 Volume Paperback Set : In Six Volumes; In which Nothing Is Added to the Original Text; but those Words and Expressions Are Omitted which Cannot with Propriety Be Read Aloud in a Family

'The Family Shakspeare: in which nothing is added to the original text, but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read in a family.' These words on the title pages of this edition gave rise to the verb 'to bowdlerise' - to remove or modify text considered vulgar or objectionable.

Although the first edition was in fact created by Henrietta Maria Bowdler (1750-1830) and published in 1807, the many subsequent editions were published under the name of her brother Thomas (1754-1825), who devoted his time to prison reform and chess, as well as the sanitising of Shakespeare.

The Bowdlers' work became enormously popular as the scandal-ridden Regency gave way to Victorian respectability.

This six-volume set is a reissue of the 1853 edition.