阿登版莎士比亚问世至今已有100多年历史了。第一版阿登莎士比亚系列中最早的一册是爱德华道顿主编的《哈姆雷特》，出版于1890年。自此，阿登版莎士比亚得到国际认可和尊荣。如今，它被公认为最出色的莎剧版本。易读可靠的剧文，完整详尽的评注，内容丰富的导言使其深受专家学者、学生、演员及大众读者的好评。

The Arden Shakespeare is now nearly one hundred years old.The earliest volume in the series,Edward Dowden's Hamlet,waspublished in 1899.Since then the Arden Shakespeare has becomeinternationally recognized and respected.It is now widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent Shakespeare series,valued byscholars,students,actors,and 'the great variety of readers'alikefor its readable and reliable texts,its full annotations and its richlyinformative introductions.