Shakespeare Stories [Paperback]

Leon Garfield (Author), Michael Foreman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1998

By skillfully weaving his own prose with Shakespeare's language, Leon Garfield has refashioned twelve of the Elizabethan playwright's most memorable dramas into stories, capturing all the richness of the characters, plot, mood, and setting. This format will delight both those who know the great dramatist's works and those who are new to them. Michael Foreman's dramatic color illustrations and varied black-and-white line drawings are the perfect complement to this celebration of Shakespeare's genius.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up The value of this book will depend upon the intended use. From the deep orange endpapers, through generous margins and clear print, to the multitude of evocative illustrations, the volume is a delight. Foreman's intense watercolors and lively ink-wash illustrations go far to help create the moods of the stories. The storytelling is unevenGarfield is able to evoke the heartbreak of King Lear but fails to convey the crazy humor of Twelfth Night but it is generally competent enough. However, Garfield's visual descriptions are so specific and so lavish; his line interpretations so absolute that he almost guarantees that any given production will seem inadequate after such a buildup! Libraries that have Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare (Macmillan, 1963; o.p.) or Chute's Stories from Shakespeare (World, 1956; o.p.) probably don't need to add this luxury item. Garfield covers only 12 of the best-known plays, while the Lambs tell 20 tales and Chute leads the pack with 36. While Garfield's style is more accessible to modern readers and covers the plays more completely than the evasive Victorianisms of the Lambs, he must take a back seat when compared with the lucid straightforward prose in Chute's book. Sally T. Margolis, Town and Country Day School, Kensington, Md.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Masterly." The New York Times

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper; X edition (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395861403
• ISBN-13: 978-0395861400
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Way In!, February 5, 2001

By 

A.K.Farrar "AKF" (Timisoara, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare Stories (Hardcover)

These are stunningly well told versions of the plays.

They give not only the story, but a wonderful sense of the theatrical - you read and enjoy a visual sensation as well as the speech of Shakespeare (all the words 'spoken' are taken directly from Shakespeare's scripts).

Romeo and Juliet, for example, sweats in the heat of Verona. There is a fantastic image of wasps fighting! You go directly into the story - and moral considerations are there.

The pictures support the text well- giving yet another dimension to the book.

Forget Lamb!

I've used these stories in the classroom for many years now - partly because young people (11 through to much older!) relate to them -but also because I really enjoy re-reading them.

(There is a whole set of Abridged Shakspeare by Garfield too - and wonderful Animations done with Russian animators!)

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent choice for English teachers!, July 5, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare Stories (Paperback)

Excellent choice for English teachers who want to review Shakespeare's classics with students. I have also used this with my middle school students to introduce them to Shakespeare. The stories are written in clear language so that students will be able to understand the wonderful stories of the bard without being intimidated by Shakespearean language A must for all English teachers!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Doorway to a New World, October 21, 2000

By 

"mermaid_winsome" (Canberra, ACT Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare Stories (Hardcover)

When I took my long service leave, I bought Garfield's books of Shakespeare's Stories (both volumes) and I hired videos of Shakespeare's plays. Working with these and the texts of the plays, I gave myself a course in Shakespeare's plays. It was one of the highlights of my life.

I had supposed the Laurence Olivier was some pompous old fart with a plum in his mouth. He is ELECTRIC. His Hamlet is a study in depression. His voice in "To be or not to be" is scarcely audible but carries so much emotion.

In all, I watched 22 different plays - my favourites, Richard 11 and Hamlet, in several different versions. I followed the BBC series which uses the same actors from one play to the next so that the Duke of Gloucester in one play is played by the same actor who later becomes Richard 11 in the next play.

Leon Garfield's story-telling with its light touch of irony and its perfect choice of words opened a door that I had assumed was marked "Other people only". Garfield wrote marvellous children's book and I've read them all but these books are the best of his achievements and they've made a big difference to my life.