A. L. Rowse

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The King of Navarre persuades his courtiers to join him in renouncing the world for three years of study. Foremost amongst their undertakings is a promise to forsake the company of women, but no sooner have they taken their oath than a beautiful French princess and her female attendants arrive at the palace gates on a diplomatic mission. It is love at first sight, of course, and then each man faces the challenge of wooing his lady without breaking his vow and without allowing the others to find out. Formal and scholarly, rich in wordplay and poetic invention, 'Love's Labour's Lost' is perhaps the most demanding of Shakespeare's comedies, but on this recording Sir Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Brett and Geraldine McEwan lead a distinguished cast in a lively performance.

Based on an HBO animated series, these condensations emphasize the dramatic content of some of Shakespeare's best known works. As abridged by Garfield in consultation with a panel of scholars, the books on the whole retain the magic of Shakespeare's vision and remain true to his poetics. Linguistic fluidity is perforce sacrificed (omitted lines are presented as italicized summaries interspersed throughout the dialogue), but these versions should still fire children's imaginations. Though the artwork varies in quality, the Eastern European illustrators generally capture the underlying theatrics. Palettes are subdued for the dramas, and appropriately brighter for the comedies (though the tone reproductions frequently seem off). Several plays' illustrations have a cartoony appearance; a few exhibit the stilted look of old Classics Comics. While the plays forgo their complexities—many subplots are omitted—as they become more linear in their themes (Macbeth loses much of his humanity, Romeo and Juliet is pared of its politics), their nobility shines through in these visualized introductions. One hopes that readers will be encouraged to move on to the originals. Ages 10-up.- Publishers Weekly

Shakespeare is the most autobiographical of all the Elizabethan dramatistsóthe only one of them to write his autobiography, during the crucial years of his life, in the Sonnets. Shakespeare reveals himself throughout his work as in his Sonnets and, strangely enough, no one before has thought of bringing this home to us, as in this revealing and original book in which Shakespeare speaks for himself. In this Self-Portrait Shakespeare stands clear before us in all his associations, family, professional, social, in the proper perspective of the life and events of his time.

A reliable edition of these classic works.

Part of 'The New Penguin Shakespeare' series, this text looks at 'King Lear' with an introduction, a list of further reading, commentary and a short account of the textual problems of the play. The series is used and recommended by the Royal Shakespeare Company.