Essential Shakespeare Handbook [Paperback]

Leslie Dunton-Downer (Author), Alan Riding (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0789493330 | ISBN-13: 978-0789493330 | Publication Date: April 19, 2004

Offering a user-friendly, beautifully illustrated guide to every play in the Shakespeare canon, as well as a portrait of the Bard's life and the world of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater, the Essential Shakespeare Handbook is an innovative and entertaining book which unravels the complexities of Shakespeare's plays and poems. Written in a clear and engaging style, this book will enrich the experience of the Bard's work on the page, stage, and screen.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Organized according to the categories of plays and including a section on his nondramatic poetry, this is an excellent basic tool for gaining insight into the Bard's poetic genius. Each of the categories–histories, comedies, tragedies, and romances–commences with a well-written essay that explains the nature of the genre (and the place of Shakespeare's works within it) and discusses the themes and ideas that lay behind the poet's words. A more in-depth analysis of each play follows: a look at the sources that inspired it, an act-by-act plot outline (with relevant quotes), an annotated list of the dramatis personae, ideas to ponder when reading/seeing the play, and, finally, a discussion of issues associated with the play and/or its productions. Each treatment is liberally peppered with informative sidebars, as well as with clear, color photos of relevant people and places. For the poems, similarly organized information is offered. A number of useful discussions help put the pieces into their full literary context. A biography of the playwright, an essay on Elizabethan society and the theater it spawned, a discussion of the overall canon, and an explanation of Shakespeare's language and poetic meters round out the text. This volume is not meant to take the place of more comprehensive reference works, such as Michael Dobson and Stanley Wells's The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (Oxford, 2001), but it isan informative, visually enticing introduction to the world's most famous dramatist.–Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
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Review

"Refreshing and joyful." -- Kenneth Branagh, actor and director

"The Essential Shakespeare Handbook deserves a place next to your edition of Shakespeare's plays." -- The New York Times Book Review

"This is an excellent tool for gaining insight into the Bard's poetic genius" -- School Library Journal

"[Riding and Dunton-Downer] have taken a heightened visual approach that owes as much to Internet culture as to iconographic travel guides and the increasing popularity of graphic novels." -- The Los Angeles Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (April 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789493330
• ISBN-13: 978-0789493330
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one you want, May 24, 2004

By 

Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Shakespeare Handbook (Paperback)

Someone once said that no reader ever buys a book because of who the publisher is but DK Books is an exception to that rule. Everythig they publish is wonderfully written, packed with informattion and fun.

Essential Shakespeare gives you an overview of Shakespeare's life, looks at the different argurments about his "true" identity and talks about the role and realities of theater life in the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. Next it launches into in depth discussions about each play, long poem and gives a quick look at the sonnets.

The book sumarizes each play, gives you a who's who among the characters and then tells you in detail what happens act by act. Then it talks about how the play has been shown to audiences through out the years. Like all DK books it's full of pictures and sidebars.

I spent hours readig this book and only put it down because I had to get up early the next morning. Essential Shakespeare is not only a great gift for a Shakespeare lover but it's a really effective way to itroduce the works of the Bard to someone who didn't know much or anything about them before.

Alls well that ends well, this book is most definitely worth the money.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Every Library at Home and at School, July 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Essential Shakespeare Handbook (Paperback)

Brimming with fabulous illustrations and information, The Essential Shakespeare Handbook is also a good read. (a quality lacking in most books of this type, and most especially the Oxford Companion). The authors have not only given an overall history of Shakespeare's works but also of the Elizabethan Period in general. I loved the way they divided the plays into color-coded categories of history plays, comedies, tragedies and romances. There is an introduction to each play which provides background on what inspired Shakespeare to write on that particular subject. I find it most helpful that they give a capsule bio of each character in a play before summarizing each act. I loved the way they provide guidance on how to read the play as well as what to look for when viewing the play. This is such an amazing book that I have ordered a dozen copies and regularly give it to friends and relatives (it made a great graduation gift). Many of the recipients are now ordering multiple copies to give to their own friends. We all feel that this book is the best yet of the hundreds of reference books on the works of Shakespeare.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, worthwhile, and attractive., December 11, 2004

By 

Basil Sage - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Shakespeare Handbook (Paperback)

The Essential Shakespeare Handbook is just that, the first place to turn for the answers. It has taken its place on my bookshelf right along side of The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. I'll bet I take it down from that shelf more often than I do its companion.

D-K's colorful Handbook has a real advantage over others in the field: it's attractive and approachable for a very wide audience. Who knows? Your kids might even decide that Will was a cool guy.