Charles and Mary Lamb’s retellings of twenty of Shakespeare’s tales are rich with humour and telling imagery; and the authors reflect much of Shakespeare’s insight into the human condition. The language they use is striking and memorable, and there are lots of direct quotations too making these stories particularly good for reading aloud. Indeed, reading or listening to the appropriate tale before going to see a production of one of the plays would be an ideal way to give children a grip on the plot. This edition comes with a fascinating introduction by Judi Dench, whose passion for these retellings should certainly catch young readers’ attention: ‘you will find heroes and villains, heroines and deceivers, kings, queens, fairies and magic – the same ingredients that all the very best stories are made of.’ Indeed! ~ Andrea Reece
In 1807, Charles Lamb and his sister Mary wrote a collection of stories retelling twenty of Shakespeare's plays for children. While making sure that the pieces were accessible for a younger audience, they took care to stay faithful to the language and vocabulary of the Bard as much as possible.
Ranging from the high drama of Romeo and Juliet to the delightful fancy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the humour of As You Like it, this collection of vivid adaptations - here presented in a lavish new edition - has been a much loved children's classic for more than two hundred years, offering budding readers an accessible route to Shakespeare's works.