11 h 32 minAudiobook8 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 storm breaks near a lonely island, and a wronged magician prepares to face his enemies.
In Tales from Shakespeare, Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb retell twenty plays as clear prose stories. The book opens with The Tempest, where Prospero lives with his daughter Miranda. Elsewhere, Viola survives a shipwreck and takes on a disguise, while Romeo and Juliet fall in love across a bitter family feud.
Love, mistaken identity, jealousy and dangerous choices run through these tales. In The Merchant of Venice, Antonio borrows money so his friend Bassanio can court Portia. The Winter's Tale brings a king's groundless jealousy, while Macbeth faces a prophecy of kingship and Hamlet receives a terrible task from a ghost.
What you’ll discover
- An island after the storm Meet Prospero and Miranda as strangers arrive on the island where they live.
- Love behind a disguise Follow Viola into Twelfth Night, where dressing as a boy entangles her in others' loves.
- Money, friendship and quick thinking Meet Antonio, Shylock and clever Portia in a story where borrowing serves a friend's courtship.
- Choices shadowed by danger Encounter Macbeth's prophecy and Hamlet's terrible task in tales that bring their conflicts into focus.
- A path into the plays Discover the people, quarrels and choices behind plays you may want to explore next.
Who will love it
For readers who love Shakespeare’s comedies of love and disguise and tragedies of ambition and jealousy, and anyone exploring the plots before seeing or reading the plays. A welcoming choice for parents choosing stories for children and teachers.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A storm and an island begin the book
- Comedies of love, disguise and mix-ups
- Law, money and mistaken identity
- Stories of exile, jealousy and lost children
- Charles Lamb and the six tragedies
- How the Lambs tell the tales
Who’s who
- ProsperoThe wronged Duke of Milan who lives on an island with magical powers and has long planned how to face his enemies.
- MirandaProspero's daughter, raised on the island, who knows almost no one but her father until a young prince arrives.
- ViolaA shipwrecked young woman who dresses as a boy in Illyria and becomes entangled in the loves of others.
- PortiaA rich, clever heiress of Belmont whose suitors must pass a test and who proves quick of mind.
- Romeo and JulietTwo young people from feuding Verona families who fall in love and marry in secret.
- MacbethA Scottish general who hears a prophecy of kingship from three witches and is urged on by his wife.
- HamletA Danish prince who grieves for his father and is given a terrible task by a ghost.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 32 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 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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Racconti da Shakespeare
by Charles Lamb; Mary Lamb · 1807
On an island after a storm, meet a magician who has waited twelve years to set a wrong right.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Tales from Shakespeare is a book of twenty stories, each one a Shakespeare play told again in plain prose. Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb wrote it in London, and it first appeared in 1807.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A storm and an island begin the book
The book opens with The Tempest. A ship seems to break apart in a storm near a lonely island, and the people on board are brought ashore. The island belongs to Prospero, a wise man who was once the Duke of Milan. His own brother pushed him from his throne and sent him to sea with his small daughter Miranda.
Prospero has lived on the island for twelve years. He has studied magic from his books, and he commands a quick, airy spirit named Ariel. He also keeps a rough servant, Caliban, who is the son of a witch and resents his master. Miranda has seen almost no one but her father, so the shipwrecked young prince Ferdinand is the first young man she has ever met.
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What is Tales from Shakespeare about?
It retells twenty Shakespeare plays as short prose stories. Mary Lamb tells the comedies and Charles Lamb the tragedies, so a reader can follow each plot, its people and its main turns without reading the full play.
Who wrote Tales from Shakespeare, Charles or Mary Lamb?
Both did. Mary Lamb retold the comedies and Charles Lamb the tragedies. The book first appeared in 1807, and it is often credited to Charles alone, although Mary wrote most of the tales.
Which plays are in Tales from Shakespeare?
There are twenty, including The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear and Hamlet. Some of the history plays are not included.
The author
Charles Lamb
1775–1834 · English essayist and poet
Charles Lamb (1775–1834) was an English essayist and poet. He was born in London and died in Edmonton, then in Middlesex. He worked as a clerk for the East India Company. With his sister Mary Lamb, he wrote Tales from Shakespeare, published in 1807. His Essays of Elia appeared in 1823.
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