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The question is not whether Shakespeare studies needs feminism, but whether feminism needs Shakespeare. The all-women team of contributors to A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare argues that not only is Shakespeare important for women, his works are specifically important for feminism.

The collected essays address issues vital to feminist inquiry such as race, sexuality, the body, queer politics, and the advent of capitalism, but also appropriate ground that has hitherto been regarded as terrain hostile to feminism, such as textual editing and theatre history.

Contributors include both influential voices in the field and new feminist scholars offering fresh and exciting insights. Each contributor is committed to providing beginning students (both female and male) with an accessible foundation for study, while negotiating for the more advanced reader the urgent issues of the field.

A Feminist Companion to Shakespeare is the first feminist statement on Shakespeare for the 21st century.

The volume won a Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title in 2001.