A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories
Page 10
Romeo and Juliet
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, and one of the most famous love stories of all time, Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two lovers who meet a tragic end because of their feuding families. Forced to deny their families and their names, Romeo and Juliet can’t escape the violence that surrounds them. Shakespeare shows how fate and society can bring an end to even the strongest love.
The Tempest
Believed to be Shakespeare’s last great play, this comedy tells the story of an act of betrayal 11 years previously. Like Hamlet, it’s a revenge play, but this tale has a happy ending. Prospero forgives the brother who usurped him, and returns to Naples to become a Duke once more. At the end of this play, Prospero asks the audience to ‘let your indulgence set me free’, which is an instruction to clap!
Twelfth Night
Like The Tempest, this tale features a shipwreck (though this one happens before the play even starts). It separates Viola from her brother, Sebastian. Shakespeare liked to write about women pretending to be men, as he does in this play. The irony is that in Shakespeare’s time, every part was played by a man, so Cesario’s character would have been played by a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man!
For my mother, with love — A. M.
To my husband Will. In the words of another William, “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”
— A. L.
A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories © 2018 Quarto Publishing plc. Text © 2018 Angela McAllister. Illustrations © 2018 Alice Lindstrom.
First published in 2018 by Lincoln Children’s Books,
an imprint of The Quarto Group.
The Old Brewery, 6 Blundell Street, London N7 9BH, United Kingdom.
T (0)20 7700 6700 F (0)20 7700 8066 www.QuartoKnows.com
The right of Alice Lindstrom to be identified as the illustrator and Angela McAllister to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 (United Kingdom).
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Digital edition: 978-1-78603-964-4
Hardcover edition: 978-1-78603-114-3
The illustrations were created in collage
Published by Rachel Williams and Jenny Broom
Designed by Karissa Santos
Edited by Katie Cotton
Production by Jenny Cundill and Kate O’Riordan
Manufactured in Guangdong, China CC052018