From the Author
Excerpt from the Author’s Foreword:
I had many reasons for wanting to write a novelization of "Hamlet," but the simplest reason was for my mother. And people like her.
"I’'ve always wanted to read ‘Hamlet,’ " she once insisted, "but I just can’t understand what they’re saying. I can’t understand Shakespeare."
That got me to thinking: How many people like my mother are out there? How many people would relish Shakespeare’s work, if only they had a little help following the dialogue?
(1) I would "translate" the language, though not to sound "modern," per se. I would just ... nudge the words a bit, while leaving them in their original setting.
(2) I would elaborate in the prose as to what each character might have been doing/thinking/feeling at any given point. And thus, the dialogue would become more clear, as the reader would have a greater sense of context.
Do I hope pleasure-readers will find it more accessible now? Yes! Do I hope that perhaps students might be able to use this text as a learning aide? Sure!
So here is my interpretation of "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." I hope you find the Bard’s text easier to understand, but at the same time, I am asking you to "put your Thinking Caps on." After all, this is still Shakespeare; I’m just hoping to help you understand the story that much better. I’'ve tweaked, I’'ve rearranged, I’'ve converted ... but whenever possible, I'’ve left things as unaltered as I could.
About the Author
Christopher Andrews lives in California with his wife, Yvonne Isaak-Andrews, their beautiful daughter, Arianna, and their Pug, PJ. He is working on his next novels, and continues to work as an actor and screenwriter.
Excerpts from all of Christopher's novels can be found at ChristopherAndrews.com.
