The best of Shakespeare

The best of Shakespeare

E. Nesbit, 1858-1924

Book - 1997

Simplified prose retellings of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear, Macbeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Winter's Tale. At the heart of any great work of literature is a story. William Shakespeare's plays are no exception. His plays tell stories of kings and queens, of ghosts and witches, of romance and passion. But to get to the story at the heart of the plays, the reader must first work through Shakespeare's language, a task often too great for younger readers (and for many adults). Now, in this new edition, E. Nesbit, the classic British children's author, brings ten of Shakespeare's greatest plays to life. She shakes off the burdensome complexity of Shakes...peare's language and tells the stories at the core of the plays. Sprinkled with her own dashes of wit and humor, her graceful, vivid retellings, using accessible language, are the perfect introduction to Shakespeare's work. Nesbit's stories are also the perfect way for adults to brush up on the ins and outs of Shakespeare's plays. Who can remember the names of King Lear's three daughters? Was Romeo a Montagu or a Capulet? What, exactly, was Hamlet's problem?

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Publisher description

Children's Room Show me where

j822.33/Shakespeare
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room j822.33/Shakespeare Checked In
Subjects
Shakespeare, William, > 1564-1616 > Adaptations > Juvenile literature.
Shakespeare, William, > 1564-1616.
Adaptations.
Genres
Adaptations
Published
New York : Oxford University Press [1997]
Language
English
Main Author
E. Nesbit, 1858-1924 (-)
Other Authors
William Shakespeare, 1564-1616 (-)
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Contributor biographical information
Publisher description
Physical Description
110 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
9780195116892
9780195132137
9780613948944
9781442007048
  • Introduction
  • Preface
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • The Merchant of Venice
  • Twelfth Night
  • Hamlet
  • The Tempest
  • King Lear
  • Macbeth
  • As You Like It
  • The Winter's Tale
  • Othello
  • Afterword
Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 4^-6. Sandwiched between the appreciative introduction by Iona Opie and the more analytical afterword by Peter Hunt are 10 retellings of Shakespeare's most famous plays, written by E. Nesbit. Shorter and more colloquial than the Lambs' classic versions, these stories don't recapitulate every subplot but capture the essential events and retain a little of the original wording. In a departure from the painterly illustrations that accompany most retellings, this volume features photographs from productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as several North American companies. The use of photographs gives the book a less childish look than other retellings. A good choice for young people seeking an introduction to the tales or for older folk looking for a refresher. --Carolyn Phelan

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review

Introduction by Iona Opie. Afterword by Peter Hunt. 'Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet', and 'King Lear' are four of the ten plays briefly retold by the beloved author of 'The Railway Children'. A mix of excerpts from the plays and Nesbit's modern, sometimes anachronistic language results in ungainly, if accessible, retellings. Black-and-white photographs from modern theater company productions accompany the plays. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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