Shakespeare's Roman plays and their background

"Shakespeare's Roman Plays and Their Background" by M. W. MacCallum is a study that looks at Shakespeare's plays set in ancient Rome, figuring it was written in the early 1900s. The book studies the history and things that shaped these plays, as well as why they matter in Shakespeare's work and in English plays in general. It talks about how these plays are different from Shakespeare's history plays and sad stories, but also how they share some of the same ideas. The book starts by saying it will look at the Roman plays as their own group, talking about their special methods and how they handle things and promising to also look at the history around them, like older Roman stories and important people such as Plutarch. MacCallum mentions that he is located far European libraries, expresses gratitude to various scholars and institutions that helped him with his research and explains that he wants to give a full explanation of the Roman plays by finding their source and past writings, leading to more talks about them throughout the book.