Monuments of book culture: Shakespeare Folio found in French library

A rare and valuable Shakespeare First Folio, regarded as the most important book in English literature, has been discovered in a small French town. The book had lain undisturbed in a library in Saint-Omer, near Calais in northern France, for 200 years.

It was discovered by librarians planning an exhibition on the historic links between the region and England.

"The work has several pages missing, including the title page," librarian Remy Cordonnier told the press.

The loss of the first page and introductory material may have led to the book being catalogued as an unexceptional old edition, he added.

The Folio collects 36 of Shakespeare's 38 known plays for the first time, and was originally printed in 1623, seven years after the playwright's death. Edited by his friends and fellow actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, it is credited with being the reason his literary legacy survived.

It is thought that 800 copies were produced, of which 233 are believed to still exist.

The copy discovered in Saint-Omer is one of only two known to reside in France.

The library says it has no plans to sell the book but intends to display it as the centrepiece of the forthcoming exhibition of its rare books by English authors.