Beautifully told tales, a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's greatest plays. Charles and Mary Lamb's labour of love brings vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Othello, the fun of As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew, the magic of The Tempest and the drama of Pericles. Conveying all Shakespeare's wit, wisdom and humanity, and never losing the feel of his beautiful language, these tales are classic literature in their own right.
This does not contain the original text by Charles and Mary Lamb. It is “a modern adaptation” of that text.
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When I first began homeschooling my children I came across this book. Since we were to soon see a high school production of Midsummer's Night Dream I read the Lamb version aloud to them before seeing the performance. The results were amazing. My children had no previous exposure to Shakespeare. The Lamb's ability to retain some of Shakespeare's original language greatly enhanced their comprehension. They loved the story and...
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If you want to learn as a novice the tales of Shakespeare, then this is the book to read. A children's novel of his famous plays. Now to the English Shakespearean scholar this would seem like Shakespeare for dummies, but I would only partially agree. This is a great book to be introduced and gives a general framework before reading him. Even after reading this, its not an easy task trying to read Elizabethan English, which...
8Report
I remember my father giving me this book when I was young. He was a junior high school english teacher and used this book in class. Together we read the stories and I loved them. Now I am a college professor and use the book in class myself. While some of the summaries are "dated," they are still useful in communicating the basic action of the play to students and the very fact that they are "dated" allows the book to serve...
9Report
I love this book! I have always loved Shakespeare and wanted my children to enjoy the bard as well. I always read these stories to them before we watch a play on TV, video, or rarely, on stage. They are a step ahead in that they already know the plot and can then enjoy the language more fully. They are developing a love for Shakespeare, too!
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