This book, originally published in 1832, was the first effort by a woman to examine the attributes of the foremost heroines of Shakespeare's plays. Mrs. Jameson organizes the protagonists into four categories, I. Characters of Intellect, II. Passion and Imagination, III. Characters of the Affections, and IV. Historical Characters. This book has added illustrations and notes. It is a book that will be appreciated by devotees of all things Shakespeare and is certain to lend an even greater understanding and affection for these characters. It is one of the classics in literary criticism, especially of the 19th century. As "Women's Studies," have become a modern scholastic topic, this book is an example of early egalitarianist points of view concerning women. Irish-born Mrs. Anna (Brownell Murphy) Jameson, who lived from 1794 until 1860, was an art historian and author. While not a radical feminist, she believed that women had a right to work for society outside the domestic domain, and that the creation of new jobs for them when they were not needed at home was a good thing.