The Tempest
-
- $0.99
Publisher Description
Magic and Intrigue-- Prospero, a wizard, is the rightful Duke of Milan, but his brother, in league with the King, had deposed him and set him adrift with his 3-year-old daughter Miranda 12 years earlier. Through his mystical arts Prospero divines that his brother is on a ship passing close by. Prospero raises a tempest and drives his brother's ship toward the island and puts in motion a plan to restore his daughter to her rightful place. Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prospero-like in their artistry, Spirin's dazzling watercolors dominate this retelling of Shakespeare's final play. Shaped like altar panels fit for a Renaissance church or palace, the illustrations are romantic, regal and magical, richly interpreting the play's themes of betrayal, revenge and all-conquering love. A wispy ethereal air pervades island scenes, beautifully suggesting the atmosphere of enchantment, while Antonio and the King of Naples are pictured in brocade and velvet, the stench of power upon them. The other characters, too, are both otherworldly and very much flesh and blood. Especially well rendered is the monster Caliban, shown here as part man, part beast, part mythical creature, a sense of evil glee lighting his features. While this prose adaptation does not, of course, retain the full magic of the Bard's work, Beneduce nonetheless provides an intelligent, gripping story. Several passages from Shakespeare introduced at key points give a taste of the original. Symbols and small pictures integrated into the text further enhance the lavish presentation. All ages.
