Charles Knight was the son of a Windsor printer and bookseller. He was originally apprenticed to his father but eventually became an independent publisher in his own right. One of his most famous and successful editions was his Pictorial Edition of the Works of Shakspere, produced in parts 1838-43. The plays were interspersed with illustrations of scenes and characters from the plays, and the whole was intended as an affordable illustrated edition, more approachable by the literate poorer end of society than the expensive illustrated subscription edition produced by John Boydell (1786-1805). As a result it sold better than any previous edition of Shakespeare.