The Merchant of Venice is one of the most outstanding romantic comedies of William Shakespeare. The play revolves around the legendary characters of Antonio, a rich Italian merchant, Shylock, a rich Jew, and Portia, a rich heiress. When Antonio asks to borrow money from Shylock to help his friend Bassanio, Shylock agrees on the condition that if he is unable to repay it by the date specified, he will have to repay it with a pound of his flesh. As the play unfolds, Antonio is trapped by Shylock s condition, but the beautiful and intelligent Portia comes to his rescue. This short narrative version of the play has been suitably adapted to help introduce the play to young readers. It can be read by children or read to them by parents who wish to introduce them to the play. It can also be used by teachers as a classroom resource. The easy-to-read narration and comic-style illustrations are sure to captivate children s interest and develop their reading skills. Also available as part of a 20 book set, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tragedy of Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Winter's Tale, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Anthony and Cleopatra and All's Well That Ends Well.

 

This book is part of a book series called 20 Shakespeare Childrens Stories .

This book has been graded for interest at 7-9 years.

There are 64 pages in this book. This book was published 2013 by Sweet Cherry Publishing .

Rene Weis is Professor of English at University College London and a distinguished editor and biographer of Shakespeare.