“JAMES COOK only had a small library on the Endeavour as he sailed the seas in search of land to claim.
“There was room enough for some books on navigation, geography and science but the only literary book he is thought to have brought on the voyage to Australia in 1770 was The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, according to University of Melbourne Gerry Higgins lecturer in Shakespeare Studies Dr David McInnis.
“It was also a great source of reference and inspiration for Nelson Mandela who was known to refer often to Julius Caesar in particular during his long years of imprisonment in South Africa.
“Shakespeare was considered contraband in jail in apartheid South Africa so it was passed around secretly among the Robben Island inmates who would underline key passages they found relevant.”
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