Stopping at nothing in his evil obsession for the throne, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, schemes and betrays, deceives and murders as he sees fit. Rarely has Shakespeare created a character that is at the same time so intelligent and evil, so despicable and fascinating. In order to wrest the crown from his brother Edward IV he conspires to have his other brother George charged with treason, arrested and murdered. This is enough to kill the severely ill King leaving Richard to serve as regent until the King's heirs are of age. To strengthen his own claim to the throne Richard woos Lady Anne the widow of the also murdered Prince of Wales. The opposition soon forms and the last Lancastrian heir Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, leads an army from France against Richard. Disturbing and enthralling, Richard III is a gripping tragedy and one of Shakespeare's enduring successes.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

The young King Richard has legitimately inherited the throne, yet he rules with self-serving arrogance, neglects his subjects and spends liberally. Tensions among the nobility mount as his favoritism and miscalculations turn many against him. When he is forced to cover his involvement in the murder of his uncle he banishes two nobles, Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. But Bolingbroke soon returns, enraged that Richard has seized property and wealth that he had rightfully inherited. Despite his tyrannical behavior, Richard is defended by many as God's chosen ruler. But, having created a rift in the nobility that will continue to fester for a hundred years, Richard has also set in motion the events that may cost him the crown. Written entirely in verse, Richard II is one of Shakespeare's finest history plays.

Enter the Malcontent...a misfit, an outcast, a 'strayer from the drove', one who laughs at the follies of others from a distance, like Jacques, or who snarls and rails acerbically like Thersites or Timon. Sometimes, like Iago, he has murder in his heart. He might be an alienated intellectual, like Bosola or Flamineo, with an education he cannot use, or a cynical adventurer like Bussy, or a revenger, like Vindice, out to right wrongs; a bastard like Edmund; a Jew like Barabas; an outcast, a social climber, a man with a deformity, a man passed over for office, a professional clown with ambitions, a professional soldier with a grudge, a Prince with an impossible mission, even a usurping king determined to 'prove a villain'...The Malcontent comes in various garbs and guises, sometimes glowering and dressed in black, and sometimes not. But his kind is legion, his intelligence rare, and he figures on the English stage at a uniquely innovative point in its history. The Jacobean stage Malcontent had his immediate antecedents in real life. He also had a dramatic ancestry in the medieval Vice and the Fool. His anarchic hey-day began in the late 1580s and was effectively over by the mid 1620s, but this brief period produced some of the most influential dramatists the Anglophone world has known, stage-writers of brilliance who were engaged in re-working Roman and Greek Classicism, and incorporating and adapting English medieval staples and histories in modern works which revolutionised stage business and stage language. By the time a play called The Malcontent by John Marston appeared in 1604, it was satirising a familiar phenomenon: not only of a stage figure, but of a whole tranche of plays and theatre-writing distinctly malcontented in tone and matter. Written and performed in a time of new intellectual inquiry and a spirit of scepticism regarding the old fixtures of Man's place in the World and the political and religious structures that underpinned it - a time of social flux, of discovery of new worlds, of war, spying, bitter religious faction, and political and economic uncertainty - these works were presenting a diverse public audience with the exciting and possibly terrifying spectacle of this fixture's actual fragility, and the capacity of Man to challenge his destiny. The author's remarkably perceptive The Stoic, the Weal and the Malcontent sheds new light on the the development and relevance of the Malcontent in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Julia Lacey Brooke read English Literature and Renaissance History at the University of East Anglia, later taking an MLitt at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon. Now based in rural Tuscany, she is a freelance editor, teacher and lecturer, and writes satirical fiction.

One of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, King John reaches far back in English history to the struggle for the throne that ensued after the death of Richard Coeur de Lion. Supported by their conniving mother Queen Eleanor, his younger brother John assumes the crown, but immediately there is a rival claim from his nephew Arthur. When John hears that the King of France supports Arthur's claim, John declares war. His plans are thrown off course by the arrival of the pope's ambassador come to excommunicate him. Lacking the heroism of his deceased brother, and possessed of a shifty temperament, John doesn't shy away from cold-blooded savagery. Filled with political intrigue, backroom deals and shifting alliances, King John is a rarely performed and often under- rated masterpiece.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

The English monarchy is in a state of crisis, as the nobles and Cardinal Wolsey become locked in a fierce power struggle. Unbeknownst to the King, the ambitious Wolsey has taxed the populace to the point of rebellion and amassed a huge fortune by taking advantage of his position. When he meddles with the King's plans for divorce he brings ruin upon himself. Against all opposition the King proceeds to divorce Queen Katherine and marries one of her ladies-in-waiting Anne Bullen, throwing off centuries of obedience to Rome and declaring himself head of the church. A play with a rich theatrical history, Henry VIII features in Katherine and Wolsey two of Shakespeare's most memorable and vivid characters. The roots of the crisis are explored from many subtle political and personal angles. Written late in his career the play shines with depth and power.

This new edition of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy is based, exceptionally, on the quarto, the version closest to his original manuscript. The Introduction illuminates the play's origins and the practicalities of its composition, and reaches beyond to its reception and influence down the centuries. Detailed notes pay especial attention to the language and staging, and the volume includes King Lear 's first derivative, a contemporary ballad, and guides to appreciation of the play and its multiple offshoots.

The struggle for the crown takes on new dimensions as the realm of King Henry VI tears itself apart in civil war. His defeat in battle at St. Albans has placed the Duke of York on the throne. Henry and York agree that Henry rules until death but that York would then inherit the crown. Queen Margaret, unwilling to accept the disinheritance of her son, leads a counterattack by the Lancastrians. Soon a whole nation suffers under wars led by warmongering nobles driven by personal vendettas. King Henry retreats into contemplation; overcome by the senselessness of war, by fathers killing sons, sons killing fathers. Henry loses the throne again, and Edward, son of the murdered Duke of York, becomes king. But peace is illusive, as in the background his own brother Richard prepares the way for his own rise to the throne.

King Henry VI matures as a gentle, spiritual man. Peace has been established between England and France and Suffolk has arranged a strategic marriage for the King to Margaret of Anjou. Suffolk, with his close relationship to Margaret, and the Duke of Gloucester hold influential positions at the court, as Henry lacks interest in politics and the affairs of the state. This weakness in leadership opens the door for power struggles among the royal family, the nobles and aristocrats. The murder of the Duke is just the first in a series of catastrophes leading to the open uprising against the King in the War of the Roses. An exciting and dynamic play, King Henry VI Part 2, explores the relationship between leadership, power and liberty.

King Henry VI, just a mere infant, occupies the throne after his father's death. Leadership gone, the struggle for power soon resurfaces between the two ancient houses of Lancaster and York. The Duke of Gloucester the appointed Protector, and therefore ruler of England, is feuding with Winchester, a bishop and cardinal. Meanwhile, Richard Plantagenet and the Duke of York are in fierce disagreement, more intent on taking each other down than in defending English territories from the French. The furious, indomitable Talbot is England's leader in France, but despite his reputation he is unable to suppress the French. Under the bold leadership of Joan of Arc his forces are driven back to the sea. One of Shakespeare's early works, Part 1 is a multifaceted introduction to the reign of King Henry VI.

Few are aware that the true identity of William Shakespeare represents Western Civilization's greatest mystery. Even fewer realize that the commonly accepted authorship by the illiterate William Shaksper of Stratford is a complete hoax manufactured by England's most powerful politicians. This deception survived largely unscathed until 1920 when J. Thomas Looney's brilliant book, ""Shakespeare" Identified," plucked Edward de Vere out of historical obscurity and introduced him to the world as the real Shakespeare.

Compiled of authoritative essays and compelling book excerpts, the third volume in this groundbreaking series, "Shine Forth" salvages fascinating, neglected authorship material which repeatedly and convincingly shows that Edward de Vere was the uniquely creative genius who wrote under the coerced pen name of William Shakespeare. Combating the astonishing power of conventional wisdom, de Vereans have steadily built their case through solid research published in journals and books which have been subject to disappearance by the vicissitudes of time-until now.

With an impressive bibliography, well-documented sources, and an unshakeable desire to unearth the truth, this volume represents an historic achievement in the scholarship of Shakespearean studies, and reopens the dialogue on this controversial subject.

Young King Henry V inherits the crown from his father. But, the family's claim to the throne is weak and his wild, dissolute youth still haunts him. To strengthen his position he decides to invade France, a move strongly supported by the Archbishop, who has his own motives. An insult by the Dauphin is enough for Henry to set out with a relatively small invasion force to experience the true nature of war firsthand. Soon his leadership is challenged in ways he never imagined and he is forced to rise to the occasion to keep the campaign alive. Proving to be charismatic and able to speak to all types of men, Henry remains resolute even when the odds turn dramatically against them. Much celebrated, King Henry V looks at war from both sides: the glorious and triumphant where heroes are born and nations rise to glory, as well as the tragic human cost and the often misguided motivations behind a war's supporters.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Hotspur is dead and a new rebellion against the king is forming, supported by his father the Earl of Northumberland. The moving continuation of King Henry IV Part 1 delves into a broad spectrum of society, from Falstaff and his shadowy associations to the nobility and high court. Prince Hal, though he has proven himself in battle, is still hanging around in bawdy taverns and keeping lowly company. His father fears he is entirely unsuited for kingship. But Hal matures, leaving behind his relationship with Falstaff, and reconciles with his dying father. Falstaff, meanwhile, has been sent to raise a scratch militia, meeting all kinds of comic characters in the country. Every bit as compelling as the first part, this drama embodies Shakespeare at the height of his writing maturity.

Murder, mayhem, and magic. Pushed by his wife to seize the throne, Macbeth kills his rightful liege and then tries desperately to hold onto the kingdom that he has wrongfully usurped. Prophesy and magic abound in this dark, moody, and atmospheric play. Out, damned spot Out, I say One- two -why then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?

This edition of The Two Gentlemen of Verona offers a complete consideration of all aspects of the text. It interprets the play less as a contribution to a Renaissance literary debate between love and friendship (the traditional academic view) than as a dramatization of competing kinds of love - a theatrical counterpart to Shakespeare's Sonnets. It analyzes the lyrical language with which these kinds of love are expressed, and explores the tension between lyricism and the violence of some of the play's events, notably the concluding attempted rape scene. It also provides further evidence that The Two Gentlemen is Shakespeare's earliest surviving play, and proposes a new actor for whom the principal comic role of Lance may have been designed. This is the only edition to offer a setting of the song 'Who is Silvia?', prepared by Guy Woolfenden from an Elizabethan source, and is therefore the only edition on the market to provide a complete text for performance.

Originally published in 1864. The illustrated contents will prove of great interest to ornithologists, falconers and Shakespeare devotees. The detailed chapters contain: Shakespeare's General Knowledge of Natural History - The Eagle and Larger Birds of Prey - Hawks and Hawking - The Owl - Crows and their Relations - Song Birds - Birds Under Domestication - Game Birds and Quarry of Falconers - Wildfowl and Seafowl - Other Birds etc.Many of the earliest bird books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Delve into the turbulent history of 15th century England, where the continuing battle for the crown is marked by rebellion, deceit and bloodshed. Having usurped the throne from King Richard II, King Henry IV is himself threatened by opposition from some of the nobles that helped him gain it. Guilt troubles his conscience and he despairs about the self-indulgent behavior of his son Prince Hal who hangs around in taverns and keeps the company of disreputable characters like Sir John Falstaff. By doing so he throws into public question the family's right to the throne. Beside the political intrigues, the play is thus also a study of the complexity of family relationships, contrasting the King and his son with Hotspur, leader of the counter-rebellion, and his father, the Earl of Northumberland. One of Shakespeare's most highly praised history plays, King Henry IV has fascinated audiences from the start.