Tales from Shakespeare (Library Edition) [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Charles Lamb (Author), Mary Lamb (Author), Nadia May (Reader)

Book Description

This retelling in prose of twenty of Shakespeare's thirty-seven plays was originally published just for children. Keeping Shakespeare's own words whenever possible but making the plots and language easily understandable, this very listenable collection has entertained and informed generations of adults as well. With such classic stories as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, and more, Shakespeare's most memorable characters come to life anew as magicians and fairies, fools and kings weave their magic, mischief, and madness.

The list of 20 plays includes: The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Cymbeline, King Lear, Macbeth, All's Well That End Well, The Taming of the Shrew, The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night (or-What You Will), Timon of Athens, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet (Prince of Denmark), Othello, Pericles (Prince of Tyre.)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-An introduction to the plots of 20 of Shakespeare's plays by Charles and Mary Lamb. Narrated by Flo Gibson.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Audio Cassette edition.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged Library edition (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078610399X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786103997
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,837,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Shakespeare, April 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales from Shakespeare: Children's Classics (Hardcover)

Although this book is written for children it is great for all ages and is great to get the basic story line before you go to a play. I read most of the plays in this book (I have not yet read all of them) when I was 11. Now that I have been reading the actual plays of Shakespeare I always start by reading the short version of the play in this book and than read the actual play. I can understand what is going on much better that way. I also recommend "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children" by Edith Nesbit which gives about ten page versions of each story verses the thirty pages per story in this book and also has a smaller vocabulary which makes it better for younger children.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it as a child and now use it as a professor, January 12, 2005

By 

Lee (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Shakespeare: Children's Classics (Hardcover)

I remember my father giving me this book when I was young. He was a junior high school english teacher and used this book in class. Together we read the stories and I loved them. Now I am a college professor and use the book in class myself. While some of the summaries are "dated," they are still useful in communicating the basic action of the play to students and the very fact that they are "dated" allows the book to serve as an illustration of how interpretations of Shakespeare's plays have changed since the Lambs' time.

I recommend this book heartily.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro for kids, June 20, 2005

By 

Coreen A. Costello (Los Angeles, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales from Shakespeare: Children's Classics (Hardcover)

When I first began homeschooling my children I came across this book. Since we were to soon see a high school production of Midsummer's Night Dream I read the Lamb version aloud to them before seeing the performance. The results were amazing. My children had no previous exposure to Shakespeare. The Lamb's ability to retain some of Shakespeare's original language greatly enhanced their comprehension. They loved the story and we able to follow the play with ease, laughing and clearly enjoying themselves much to the frustration of some nearby adults who were completely lost. This book helped begin their love affair with Sir William. I am of the opinion reading a well summarized version of his plays and then watching a well done performance will make any child appreciate the genius that is Shakespeare's work.