February Quote of the Month: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
— William Shakespeare in Hamlet

With the recent news surrounding Shakespeare's work, Cosimo is highlighting Shakespeare Lexicon by Alexander Schmidt as our February Quote of the Month.

Still often used today, German schoolmaster and philologist Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon is the source for elucidating the sometimes cryptic language of Shakespeare and tracking down quotations. Volume 1 covers A through L, from "a: the first letter of the alphabet" to "Lysimachus," a proper name. Volume 2 covers M through Z, from "Mab: the queen of the fairies" to "Zounds: an oath contracted from God's wounds," and features numerous appendices and supplements on grammar and usage.

Every word from every play and poem is cataloged, referenced, and defined in this exhaustive two-volume work, the result of arduous research and stalwart dedication. Serious scholars and zealous fans will find the Lexicon the ultimate guide to reading and decoding the Bard.

Cosimo offers this Classic series by individual volume at various online bookstores or as a full set in paperback and hardcover.

Classic of the Month: Twelve Years a Slave

In honor of its most recent Academy Awards and much deserved recognition, we are once again featuring Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup as our Classic of the Month for March.

In 1841, free-born African American Solomon Northup was offered a job in his hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York. He followed his employers to the job site at Washington, D.C., where he was beaten, drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, eventually ending up on a plantation in Louisiana owned by Edwin Epps. While there, in 1852, Northup befriended Canadian carpenter Samuel Bass, who was at the time doing work for Epps. Secretly, Bass was able to contact Northup's family, who informed New York governor Washington Hunt of his kidnapping. The state was able to use a law passed in 1840 that allowed the recovery of free black men who were sold into slavery to rescue Northup. Solomon was finally made free again on January 4, 1853. One of few slaves of his era ever to regain freedom, he devoted his time and energy to lecturing and educating others about abolitionism. Northup is without a doubt, a person worth celebrating.

His story has seen a wave of media attention recently, winning three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Additionally, Twelve Years received the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama as well as the Best Film award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Shortly thereafter, an article was published about Northup's family, interviewing his great-great-great grandson, Clayton Adams, on how Northup's story had affected him and his family. On March 4th, the New York Times released a correction apologizing for the misspelling of Northup's name in an article written about his kidnapping 161 years ago.

Twelve Years a Slave was a bestseller in its time and remains one today. Northrup's work sold approximately 30,000 copies copies when it was first released, and has recently made the New York Times Best Sellers List.

Cosimo is proud to have released both an affordable paperback and beautiful hardcover edition of Twelve Years a Slave at Barnes & Noble, as well as on Amazon (paperback and hardcover).