One of the most ambiguous terms in English literary history and theory has turned out to be 'historical drama' and all of its available alternatives-such as 'history (play)', 'chronicle (play)', 'chronicle history', etc.-used relatively widely during the past centuries. Under the Spell of Shakespeare's Histories presents the exciting story of the theoretical approaches to the above term starting from the ancient times up until the end of the twentieth century with a special emphasis on the English-language sources. After providing a critical summary of the theories of such major critics as Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, A. W. Schlegel, Tillyard, Ribner, Lindenberger and others in the first part, the present study proposes a new definition which takes into consideration all the earlier achievements and shortcomings of the relevant literature. The author of the present book does not at all consider the proposed definition as final or faultless but rather hopes that it will generate a new interest in a better understanding of a genre so essential in the dramatic literature of each and every nation in Europe and elsewhere.