At the heart of any great work of literature is a story. William Shakespeare's plays are no exception. They tell the stories of kings and queens, of ghosts and witches, of romance and passion. But to get to the stories at the heart of the Bard's plays, the reader must first work through Shakespeare's language, a task often too demanding for younger readers (and for many adults). This new paperback edition brings ten of Shakespeare's greatest plays to life. E. Nesbit, the classic British children's author, shakes off the burdensome complexity of Shakespeare's language and tells the stories at the core of the plays with a generous sprinkle of wit and humor. Her graceful, vivid retellings, written in highly accessible and lucid prose, are the perfect introduction to Shakespeare's work. All of these major works are included in this anthology: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, As You Like It, The Winter's Tale, and Twelfth Night. The text is illustrated with dramatic black-and-white photographs from contemporary productions of the plays by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada), and the Folger Library's Shakespeare Theater. Also included is an afterword by Peter Hunt, a leading scholar of children's literature. These retellings of the classic tales of one of the world's greatest playwrights remind us that it is never too early for Shakespeare.

 

This book is part of a book series called Iona And Peter Opie Library Of Childrens Literature .

This book is aimed at children in primary school.

There are 112 pages in this book. This book was published 1999 by Oxford University Press Inc .

Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet who published over 60 books of fiction for children under her pen name E. Nesbit. Peter Hunt is Professor Emeritus in Children's Literature, University of Cardiff. Rene Weis is Professor of English at University College London and a distinguished editor and biographer of Shakespeare. Iona Opie has, in partnership with her late husband Peter Opie, edited many acclaimed books of children's folklore, including The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. I Saw Esau, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and My Very First Mother Goose. Rosemary Wells has won many major awards for her books, which include the Max and Ruby stories, three titles about Edward the Unready and Felix Feels Better. About Mother Goose, she says, "These rhymes are a celebration of the English language - it's our history and it's wonderful. "