diff --git a/core/emitter.js b/core/emitter.js
index 5c20eda1a8..8f745b6514 100644
--- a/core/emitter.js
+++ b/core/emitter.js
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import EventEmitter from 'eventemitter3';
 import logger from './logger';
+import { SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE } from './shadow-selection-polyfill';
 
 let debug = logger('quill:events');
 
-const EVENTS = ['selectionchange', 'mousedown', 'mouseup', 'click'];
+const EVENTS = [SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE, 'mousedown', 'mouseup', 'click'];
 const EMITTERS = [];
 const supportsRootNode = ('getRootNode' in document);
 
diff --git a/core/selection.js b/core/selection.js
index c74d04a010..3147cb0b44 100644
--- a/core/selection.js
+++ b/core/selection.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import clone from 'clone';
 import equal from 'deep-equal';
 import Emitter from './emitter';
 import logger from './logger';
+import { SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE, getRange } from './shadow-selection-polyfill';
 
 let debug = logger('quill:selection');
 
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ class Selection {
     this.lastRange = this.savedRange = new Range(0, 0);
     this.handleComposition();
     this.handleDragging();
-    this.emitter.listenDOM('selectionchange', this.rootDocument, () => {
+    this.emitter.listenDOM(SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE, document, () => {
       if (!this.mouseDown) {
         setTimeout(this.update.bind(this, Emitter.sources.USER), 1);
       }
@@ -158,9 +159,7 @@ class Selection {
   }
 
   getNativeRange() {
-    let selection = this.rootDocument.getSelection();
-    if (selection == null || selection.rangeCount <= 0) return null;
-    let nativeRange = selection.getRangeAt(0);
+    let nativeRange = getRange(this.rootDocument);
     if (nativeRange == null) return null;
     let range = this.normalizeNative(nativeRange);
     debug.info('getNativeRange', range);
@@ -269,7 +268,7 @@ class Selection {
     if (startNode != null && (this.root.parentNode == null || startNode.parentNode == null || endNode.parentNode == null)) {
       return;
     }
-    let selection = this.rootDocument.getSelection();
+    let selection = typeof this.rootDocument.getSelection === 'function' ? this.rootDocument.getSelection() : document.getSelection();
     if (selection == null) return;
     if (startNode != null) {
       if (!this.hasFocus()) this.root.focus();
diff --git a/core/shadow-selection-polyfill.js b/core/shadow-selection-polyfill.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d94a86df0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/shadow-selection-polyfill.js
@@ -0,0 +1,345 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright 2018 Google LLC
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
+ * use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
+ * the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+ * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+ * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+ * the License.
+ */
+
+// NOTE: copied from https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/shadow-selection-polyfill
+
+export const SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE = '-shadow-selectionchange';
+
+const hasShadow = 'attachShadow' in Element.prototype && 'getRootNode' in Element.prototype;
+const hasSelection = !!(hasShadow && document.createElement('div').attachShadow({ mode: 'open' }).getSelection);
+const hasShady = window.ShadyDOM && window.ShadyDOM.inUse;
+const isSafari = /^((?!chrome|android).)*safari/i.test(navigator.userAgent) ||
+  /iPad|iPhone|iPod/.test(navigator.userAgent) && !window.MSStream;
+const useDocument = !hasShadow || hasShady || (!hasSelection && !isSafari);
+
+const validNodeTypes = [Node.ELEMENT_NODE, Node.TEXT_NODE, Node.DOCUMENT_FRAGMENT_NODE];
+function isValidNode(node) {
+  return validNodeTypes.includes(node.nodeType);
+}
+
+function findNode(s, parentNode, isLeft) {
+  const nodes = parentNode.childNodes || parentNode.children;
+  if (!nodes) {
+    return parentNode; // found it, probably text
+  }
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < nodes.length; ++i) {
+    const j = isLeft ? i : (nodes.length - 1 - i);
+    const childNode = nodes[j];
+    if (!isValidNode(childNode)) {
+      continue; // eslint-disable-line no-continue
+    }
+
+    if (s.containsNode(childNode, true)) {
+      if (s.containsNode(childNode, false)) {
+        return childNode;
+      }
+      return findNode(s, childNode, isLeft);
+    }
+  }
+  return parentNode;
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {function(!Event)} fn to add to selectionchange internals
+ */
+const addInternalListener = (() => {
+  if (hasSelection || useDocument) {
+    // getSelection exists or document API can be used
+    document.addEventListener('selectionchange', () => {
+      document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE));
+    });
+    return () => {};
+  }
+
+  let withinInternals = false;
+  const handlers = [];
+
+  document.addEventListener('selectionchange', (ev) => {
+    if (withinInternals) {
+      return;
+    }
+    document.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(SHADOW_SELECTIONCHANGE));
+    withinInternals = true;
+    window.setTimeout(() => {
+      withinInternals = false;
+    }, 2); // FIXME: should be > 1 to prevent infinite Selection.update() loop
+    handlers.forEach((fn) => fn(ev));
+  });
+
+  return (fn) => handlers.push(fn);
+})();
+
+let wasCaret = false;
+let resolveTask = null;
+addInternalListener(() => {
+  const s = window.getSelection();
+  if (s.type === 'Caret') {
+    wasCaret = true;
+  } else if (wasCaret && !resolveTask) {
+    resolveTask = Promise.resolve(true).then(() => {
+      wasCaret = false;
+      resolveTask = null;
+    });
+  }
+});
+
+
+/**
+ * @param {!Selection} s the window selection to use
+ * @param {!Node} node the node to walk from
+ * @param {boolean} walkForward should this walk in natural direction
+ * @return {boolean} whether the selection contains the following node (even partially)
+ */
+function containsNextElement(s, node, walkForward) {
+  const start = node;
+  while (node = walkFromNode(node, walkForward)) { // eslint-disable-line no-cond-assign
+    // walking (left) can contain our own parent, which we don't want
+    if (!node.contains(start)) {
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!node) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  // we look for Element as .containsNode says true for _every_ text node, and we only care about
+  // elements themselves
+  return node instanceof Element && s.containsNode(node, true);
+}
+
+
+/**
+ * @param {!Selection} s the window selection to use
+ * @param {!Node} leftNode the left node
+ * @param {!Node} rightNode the right node
+ * @return {boolean|undefined} whether this has natural direction
+ */
+function getSelectionDirection(s, leftNode, rightNode) {
+  if (s.type !== 'Range') {
+    return undefined;  // no direction
+  }
+  const measure = () => s.toString().length;
+
+  const initialSize = measure();
+
+  if (initialSize === 1 && wasCaret && leftNode === rightNode) {
+    // nb. We need to reset a single selection as Safari _always_ tells us the cursor was dragged
+    // left to right (maybe RTL on those devices).
+    // To be fair, Chrome has the same bug.
+    s.extend(leftNode, 0);
+    s.collapseToEnd();
+    return undefined;
+  }
+
+  let updatedSize;
+
+  // Try extending forward and seeing what happens.
+  s.modify('extend', 'forward', 'character');
+  updatedSize = measure();
+
+  if (updatedSize > initialSize || containsNextElement(s, rightNode, true)) {
+    s.modify('extend', 'backward', 'character');
+    return true;
+  } else if (updatedSize < initialSize || !s.containsNode(leftNode)) {
+    s.modify('extend', 'backward', 'character');
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // Maybe we were at the end of something. Extend backwards.
+  // TODO(samthor): We seem to be able to get away without the 'backwards' case.
+  s.modify('extend', 'backward', 'character');
+  updatedSize = measure();
+
+  if (updatedSize > initialSize || containsNextElement(s, leftNode, false)) {
+    s.modify('extend', 'forward', 'character');
+    return false;
+  } else if (updatedSize < initialSize || !s.containsNode(rightNode)) {
+    s.modify('extend', 'forward', 'character');
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  // This is likely a select-all.
+  return undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns the next valid node (element or text). This is needed as Safari doesn't support
+ * TreeWalker inside Shadow DOM. Don't escape shadow roots.
+ *
+ * @param {!Node} node to start from
+ * @param {boolean} walkForward should this walk in natural direction
+ * @return {Node} node found, if any
+ */
+function walkFromNode(node, walkForward) {
+  if (!walkForward) {
+    return node.previousSibling || node.parentNode || null;
+  }
+  while (node) {
+    if (node.nextSibling) {
+      return node.nextSibling;
+    }
+    node = node.parentNode;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {!Node} node to check for initial space
+ * @return {number} count of initial space
+ */
+function initialSpace(node) {
+  if (node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  return /^\s*/.exec(node.textContent)[0].length;
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {!Node} node to check for trailing space
+ * @return {number} count of ignored trailing space
+ */
+function ignoredTrailingSpace(node) {
+  if (node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  const trailingSpaceCount =  /\s*$/.exec(node.textContent)[0].length;
+  if (!trailingSpaceCount) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+  return trailingSpaceCount - 1; // always allow single last
+}
+
+const cachedRange = new Map();
+export function getRange(root) {
+  if (hasSelection || useDocument) {
+    const s = (useDocument ? document : root).getSelection();
+    return s.rangeCount ? s.getRangeAt(0) : null;
+  }
+
+  const thisFrame = cachedRange.get(root);
+  if (thisFrame) {
+    return thisFrame;
+  }
+
+  const result = internalGetShadowSelection(root);
+
+  cachedRange.set(root, result.range);
+  window.setTimeout(() => {
+    cachedRange.delete(root);
+  }, 0);
+  return result.range;
+}
+
+const fakeSelectionNode = document.createTextNode('');
+export function internalGetShadowSelection(root) {
+  const range = document.createRange();
+
+  const s = window.getSelection();
+  if (!s.containsNode(root.host, true)) {
+    return {range: null, mode: 'none'};
+  }
+
+  // TODO: inserting fake nodes isn't ideal, but containsNode doesn't work on nearby adjacent
+  // text nodes (in fact it returns true for all text nodes on the page?!).
+
+  // insert a fake 'before' node to see if it's selected
+  root.insertBefore(fakeSelectionNode, root.childNodes[0]);
+  const includesBeforeRoot = s.containsNode(fakeSelectionNode);
+  fakeSelectionNode.remove();
+  if (includesBeforeRoot) {
+    return {range: null, mode: 'outside-before'};
+  }
+
+  // insert a fake 'after' node to see if it's selected
+  root.appendChild(fakeSelectionNode);
+  const includesAfterRoot = s.containsNode(fakeSelectionNode);
+  fakeSelectionNode.remove();
+  if (includesAfterRoot) {
+    return {range: null, mode: 'outside-after'};
+  }
+
+  const measure = () => s.toString().length;
+  if (!(s.type === 'Caret' || s.type === 'Range')) {
+    throw new TypeError('unexpected type: ' + s.type);
+  }
+
+  const leftNode = findNode(s, root, true);
+  let rightNode;
+  let isNaturalDirection;
+  if (s.type === 'Range') {
+    rightNode = findNode(s, root, false);  // get right node here _before_ getSelectionDirection
+    isNaturalDirection = getSelectionDirection(s, leftNode, rightNode);
+    // isNaturalDirection means "going right"
+  }
+
+  if (s.type === 'Caret') {
+    // we might transition to being a caret, so don't check initial value
+    s.extend(leftNode, 0);
+    const at = measure();
+    s.collapseToEnd();
+
+    range.setStart(leftNode, at);
+    range.setEnd(leftNode, at);
+    return {range, mode: 'caret'};
+  } else if (isNaturalDirection === undefined) {
+    if (s.type !== 'Range') {
+      throw new TypeError('unexpected type: ' + s.type);
+    }
+    // This occurs when we can't move because we can't extend left or right to measure the
+    // direction we're moving in. Good news though: we don't need to _change_ the selection
+    // to measure it, so just return immediately.
+    range.setStart(leftNode, 0);
+    range.setEnd(rightNode, rightNode.length);
+    return {range, mode: 'all'};
+  }
+
+  const size = measure();
+  let offsetLeft, offsetRight;
+
+  // only one newline/space char is cared about
+  const validRightLength = rightNode.length - ignoredTrailingSpace(rightNode);
+
+  if (isNaturalDirection) {
+    // walk in the opposite direction first
+    s.extend(leftNode, 0);
+    offsetLeft = measure() + initialSpace(leftNode);  // measure doesn't include initial space
+
+    // then in our actual direction
+    s.extend(rightNode, validRightLength);
+    offsetRight = validRightLength - (measure() - size);
+
+    // then revert to the original position
+    s.extend(rightNode, offsetRight);
+  } else {
+    // walk in the opposite direction first
+    s.extend(rightNode, validRightLength);
+    offsetRight = validRightLength - measure();
+
+    // then in our actual direction
+    s.extend(leftNode, 0);
+    offsetLeft = measure() - size + initialSpace(leftNode);  // doesn't include initial space
+
+    // then revert to the original position
+    s.extend(leftNode, offsetLeft);
+  }
+
+  range.setStart(leftNode, offsetLeft);
+  range.setEnd(rightNode, offsetRight);
+  return {
+    mode: isNaturalDirection ? 'right' : 'left',
+    range,
+  };
+}