5 h 22 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A ghost brings a warning, a shipwreck leads to disguise, and love crosses a bitter family feud.
In Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, E. Nesbit turns Shakespeare’s plays into short prose tales for young readers. The Tempest brings you to an island with Prospero and Miranda. Twelfth Night follows Viola as she puts on boy’s clothes to find work after a shipwreck. Each story offers a clear path through the people, plots and feelings of a play.
Love and power test people across the collection. In Romeo and Juliet, two young lovers belong to families whose servants fight in Verona’s streets. In Hamlet, a prince meets his father’s ghost and must decide how to act on what he learns. Nesbit keeps the shape of the plots and some of Shakespeare’s own words, making room for wonder, laughter and darker deeds.
What you’ll discover
- Magic on a lonely island Meet Prospero, a magician living with his daughter Miranda and seeking to settle old wrongs.
- A disguise after shipwreck Follow Viola into a duke’s house, where boy’s clothes offer work and safety.
- Love across a feud Meet Juliet as her love for Romeo crosses the hatred between their families.
- A ghost with troubling news Enter Hamlet’s world, where his father’s ghost brings news that demands a response.
- One tale at a time Enjoy plots you can follow in a single sitting, with some of Shakespeare’s own words.
Who will love it
For young readers, parents and teachers who want a gentle first meeting with Shakespeare, and anyone who enjoys lovers, magicians, ghosts and disguises or wants the plots straight before seeing a play.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Nesbit turns plays into tales
- Magic rules the island and the wood
- Comedies run on disguise and scheming
- Romeo and Juliet shows love in a feud
- The tragedies bring ghosts, crowns and storms
- What the stories share and how they sound
Who’s who
- ProsperoA magician and former duke who lives on an island with his daughter Miranda and seeks a settling of old wrongs.
- PuckA quick, mischievous fairy servant of Oberon who causes comic trouble among lovers in a wood near Athens.
- PortiaA rich and clever woman of Belmont whose wit and sense of justice matter greatly in The Merchant of Venice.
- ViolaA shipwrecked young woman who disguises herself as a boy to find work and safety in a duke's house.
- JulietA young Capulet of Verona who falls in love with Romeo, the son of her family's enemy.
- HamletA prince of Denmark, visited by his father's ghost, who must decide how to act on what he learns.
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 5 h 22 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Bei racconti da Shakespeare
by E. Nesbit; William Shakespeare · 1907
Shakespeare's lovers, ghosts and magicians enter plain prose tales where a small choice starts a large chain of events.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Nesbit turns plays into tales
Shakespeare wrote his plays to be spoken and watched on a stage. A child who opens one cold may meet long speeches, old words and many characters at once. Nesbit solves this by writing each play as a story told in plain prose, with a narrator who guides you from scene to scene.
She was not the first to try this. Charles and Mary Lamb had made their own Tales from Shakespeare in the early 1800s, and Nesbit wrote in that tradition for a new generation. Her voice is lively and warm. She speaks to the young reader as someone clever enough to follow a real story.
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What is Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare about?
It is a book of Shakespeare's plays retold as short prose stories for young readers. Each tale follows the main plot and people of one play, from comedies such as Twelfth Night to tragedies such as Hamlet and Macbeth.
Who wrote Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare?
E. Nesbit wrote the retellings, which were published in 1907. The plots, characters and many phrases come from William Shakespeare's plays, but the prose telling is Nesbit's own work.
Is Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare hard to read?
No. Nesbit uses clear, plain prose and a steady storytelling voice, so the plots are easy to follow. It is written for young readers and works well read aloud.
The author
E. Nesbit
1858–1924 · English children's writer and poet
Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) was an English author and poet who published as E. Nesbit. She was born in London and later lived in Kent. Her children’s books include The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899), Five Children and It (1902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), and The Railway Children (1906).
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