As children, Charles and Mary Lamb took great delight in exploring their benefactor’s extensive library; as adults they began writing children’s books together that also appealed to all generations. In Tales of Shakespeare they wished to bring their favourite plays to life for children too young to read and appreciate Shakespeare’s work. This collection of twenty of Shakespeare’s stories begins with The Tempest, which explores themes of magic, power and reconciliation, an...

Charles and Mary Lamb’s classic prose retellings of Shakespeare’s plays for young readers, now available in an unabridged, paperback volume in Union Square and Co.’s Signature Editions series.Originally published in 1807 by brother and sister Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare offers entertaining and highly readable versions of William Shakespeare’s most popular and enduring works. This volume collects twenty prose renditions of Shakespeare’s co...

Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an Englishessayist, poet, antiquarian, and miscellaneous writer, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, coauthored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–1847). Friends with such literary luminaries as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and William Hazlitt, Lamb was at the center of a major literary circle in England. He has been referred to by E.V. Lucas, his principal biographer, as ...

A retelling of the comedies and tragedies of Shakespeare, Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb brings together twenty stories, simplified for the young reader. Beginning with ‘The Tempest’ and ending with ‘Pericles, Prince of Trye’, it includes the summaries of some of Shakespeare’s most memorable and influential works. While the comedies have been written by Mary, the tragedies have been penned down by Charles. One of the bestselling books of the nineteenth century, Tales from ...

In those tales which have been taken from the Tragedies, the young readers will perceive, when they come to see the source from which these stories are derived, that Shakespeare's own words, with little alteration, recur very frequently in the narrative as well as in the dialogue; but in those made from the Comedies the writers found themselves scarcely ever able to turn his words into the narrative form: therefore it is feared that, in them, dialogue has been made use of too frequently fo...

The following Tales are meant to be submitted to the young reader as an introduction to the study of Shakespeare, for which purpose his words are used whenever it seemed possible to bring them in; and in whatever has been added to give them the regular form of a connected story, diligent care has been taken to select such words as might least interrupt the effect of the beautiful English tongue in which he wrote: therefore, words introduced into our language since his time have been as far...

With an introduction by Dame Judi Dench.TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's greatest plays. Charles and Mary Lamb vividly bring to life the power of Hamlet and Othello, and the fun of As You Like It. They never lose the feel of Shakespeare's language and the tales are classic literature in their own right.

THE SIGNET CLASSIC SHAKESPEARE SERIESThe Work of the World’s Greatest DramatistA great way to enjoy twenty of Shakespeare’s timeless plays, this volume is a retelling of the stories in prose by the famous nineteenth-century brother and sister Charles and Mary Lamb. Keeping Shakespeare’s own words whenever possible but making the plots and language easily accessible, this entertaining and readable collection has enthralled both children and adults ever since ...

Poetry for Children by Charles and Mary Lamb opens as a tender, illustrated treasury of simple verse shaped by affection for childhood, Shakespeare, and the moral beauty of ordinary life. Framed by memories of Christ's Hospital, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, the collection recalls the literary circle that nurtured the Lambs' humane imagination and their rare gift for writing for young readers. Within its pages, short poems and fables move easily between play and instruction. Rainbows, the fir...

In "The Adventures of Ulysses," Mary Lamb retells the key episodes and adventures from "The Odyssey" in a more accessible and concise manner, making it suitable for younger readers or those new to the epic. The book follows Odysseus as he encounters mythical creatures, navigates treacherous seas, and faces numerous trials and temptations on his way back to his homeland of Ithaca.Mary Lamb's adaptation focuses on the exciting and adventurous aspects of Odysseus's journey, highlighting his c...

A Masque of Days by Charles Lamb is a witty and engaging collection of essays presented in the form of a prose poem. It is a reflection on human behavior, morality, and the passage of time, framed through social commentary and clever satire. The work explores the complexities of everyday life, the roles of virtue and folly, and the idiosyncrasies of human nature. Lamb weaves storytelling and observation to critique the social conventions and customs of his time.The book captures the spirit...