The Best of Shakespeare: Retellings of 10 Classic Plays (The ^AIona and Peter Opie Library of Children's Literature) - Hardcover

Nesbit, E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195116895 ISBN 13: 9780195116892

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1997

Synopsis

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 Shakespeare'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?
All of these major works are included in this collection: 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 throughout with dramatic black and white photographs from modern productions of the plays by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada), and the Folger Library's Shakespeare Theater, bringing the action and characters to life. 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.

About this title

Review

Yes, the name is familiar. E. Nesbit, who died in 1924, gave us The Railway Children and The Enchanted Castle. Now, with the publication of the Shakespeare stories she wrote (at their request) for her own children, adults and kids together can enjoy her fairy-tale prose in the retelling of 10 of Shakespeare's greatest stories.

If you aren't sure you remember which daughter Lear visited first, who was traveling with Macbeth when he met those witches, or just why Rosalind was wandering around in the forest dressed like a boy--check here. Wonderful on their own, these retellings are also great preparation for any early theater or film excursion into these timeless plays.

[The publishers recommend this book for ages 11 to adult, and they're right.]

About the Author

E. Nesbit (1858-1924) is the author of many influential stories and novels for children, including The Wouldbegoods (1901), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), The Railway Children (1906), and The Enchanted Castle (1907). Her respect for children helped lay the groundwork for the direction of children's literature in the twentieth century.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0195116895
• ISBN 13: 9780195116892
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112