Leon Garfield's Shakespeare Stories

Introduce kids ages 10+ to 21 of Shakespeare’s most memorable plays—including Hamlet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

“ . . . will lay the groundwork for many a future enchanted evening at the theater.” —Wall Street Journal

How to introduce children to Shakespeare, not just to the stories behind the plays but to the richness of Shakespeare’s language and the depth of his characters: That’s the challenge that Leon Garfield, no slouch as a wordsmith himself, sets out to meet in his monumental and utterly absorbing Shakespeare Stories.

Here, 21 of the Bard’s plays are refashioned into stories that are true to the wit, the humor, the wisdom, the sublime heights, the terrifying depths, and above all the poetry of their great originals. Included:
 
• Twelfth Night
• King Lear
• The Tempest
• The Merchant of Venice
• The Taming of the Shrew
• King Richard the Second
• King Henry IV, Part One
• Hamlet
• Romeo and Juliet
• Othello
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Macbeth
• Much Ado About Nothing
• Julius Caesar
• Antony and Cleopatra
• Measure for Measure
• As You Like It
• Cymbeline
• King Richard the Third
• The Comedy of Errors
• The Winter’s Tale

Throughout, Garfield skillfully weaves in Shakespeare’s own words, accustoming young readers to language and lines that might at first seem forbiddingly unfamiliar. Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories is an essential distillation—a truly Shakespearean tribute to Shakespeare’s genius and a delight for children and parents alike.