2 h 37 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if hiding who you are gives you the freedom to speak your heart?
In William Shakespeare’s five-act comedy As You Like It, a harsh court gives way to the Forest of Arden. Banished Rosalind dresses as a young man called Ganymede, with her loyal cousin Celia beside her. Away from court, her disguise offers more than shelter: it lets her speak freely and test whether Orlando’s love is real.
Orlando faces his brother’s cruelty, while Rosalind must explore love without revealing herself. Around them, the fool Touchstone mocks pretence, the melancholy Jaques studies human folly, and shepherds stumble through desires of their own. From the court’s wrestling match to Jaques’s speech on the seven ages, the play mixes quick talk, songs, and questions about how people change.
What you’ll discover
- Rosalind takes the lead Follow a quick-witted heroine who uses disguise to question love and claim room to act.
- A forest beyond court Enter Arden, where exiles find shelter and distance from the places where power sits.
- Love loses its dignity Watch lovers grow foolish, tender, and confused as desire tangles their lives together.
- Fools with sharp eyes Meet Touchstone and Jaques, whose contrasting humour exposes pretence and probes human behaviour.
- Words made for play Enjoy Rosalind and Celia’s quick jokes, forest songs, and conversations that turn expectations upside down.
Who will love it
You will love this play if you enjoy sparkling dialogue, disguise, teasing love stories, and songs. It suits anyone who likes a comedy with real feeling underneath.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A cheated younger son decides to rebel
- A wrestling match changes two lives
- Banished from court, the cousins choose freedom
- The forest offers shelter, gloom, and kindness
- Rosalind as Ganymede offers a cure for love
- Other lovers in Arden mirror and mock the main pair
- Court and country are weighed and neither wins
- Disguise, play, and song shape how the story is told
Who’s who
- RosalindThe banished Duke's daughter, quick and teasing, who flees to Arden dressed as a boy called Ganymede and tests the love of Orlando.
- OrlandoThe youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys, wronged by his brother, who wrestles for his future and falls in love at once.
- CeliaDuke Frederick's daughter, who gives up her father's court to stay beside her cousin and travels as the poor Aliena.
- TouchstoneThe court fool, who goes with the cousins into the forest and courts the country girl Audrey with wit and mock learning.
- JaquesA melancholy lord in the exiled Duke's company, who loves sad songs and sharp comment and longs for a fool's freedom.
- OliverOrlando's elder brother, who hates him from envy and plots his harm, and who pursues him into the forest.
- Duke SeniorThe banished Duke, Rosalind's father, who lives in Arden with loyal lords and finds hardship a better teacher than the court.
- PhoebeA proud shepherdess who scorns the shepherd Silvius, and who then falls for the harsh young Ganymede.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
As You Like It
by William Shakespeare · 1623
Two cousins flee a tyrant duke for the Forest of Arden, with Rosalind disguised as a boy for safety on their journey.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Picture a young man with a thousand crowns to his name. His brother feeds him with the farmhands, while the family horses eat better and are trained better than he is.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cheated younger son decides to rebel
The play opens in an orchard, where Orlando complains to his old servant Adam. Their father left Orlando only a thousand crowns and told the eldest son, Oliver, to give the boy a proper education. Oliver has done the opposite.
Orlando says he is kept at home like an ox. Oliver's horses are better trained than he is, and he eats with the farmhands. Oliver strides in, and the quarrel turns physical. Orlando seizes him by the throat and demands either the training a gentleman deserves or his small inheritance, so that he can make his own fortune. Oliver calls old Adam a dog.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1623
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-you-like-it.
Shakespeare, W. (2026). As you like it. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-you-like-it (Original work published 1623)
Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-you-like-it.
@book{shakespeare2026as,
author = {Shakespeare, William},
title = {As You Like It},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/as-you-like-it},
note = {First published 1623}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about As You Like It
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is As You Like It about?
It tells of Rosalind and her cousin Celia, who flee a jealous duke and go to the Forest of Arden. There Rosalind, dressed as a boy, meets Orlando and teases him about love while other couples tangle.
Why does Rosalind dress as a man in As You Like It?
Rosalind and Celia fear for their safety on the road, since beauty draws thieves. Rosalind, being tall, decides to dress as a young man called Ganymede, and Celia travels as a poor girl named Aliena.
What does All the world is a stage mean?
These words come from Jaques, who describes life as a play in which each person plays many parts across seven ages, from infancy to old age. It is one of the best-known speeches in English.
The author
William Shakespeare
1564–1616 · English playwright and poet
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. He worked in London as an actor and playwright. He wrote plays, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, and published sonnets in 1609. He died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.
More by William Shakespeare
All 17 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
