In his Aeneid, Virgil urges the Romans not to forget that government is their strength and to accustom men to peace. But when the Roman Empire at its height stretched from the British Isles to the deserts of Egypt, and embraced a huge number of different peoples and cultures, how did they achieve this so successfully? In Roman Provincial Administration, John Rogan answers this question, examining the roles played by the army, client kings, and local and central government. Taking a wide se...

This shattering drama of isolation and loss is one of the greatest tragedies in world literature.King Lear of Britain has three daughters: the hard-hearted Goneril and Regan, and the good and gentle Cordelia. He determines to divide his kingdom between them, giving the largest share to she who can say she loves him the best. Lear’s tragic lack of judgement and self-knowledge is paralleled by the blindness of the loyal Gloucester who is persuaded to reject his virtuous son Edgar in ...

Macbeth, Shakespeare’s last great tragedy, has remained one of the most popular plays since it’s first performance in 1606 probably in front of King James. This exciting new audiobook production is directed with fresh imagination by Fiona Shaw who breaks the conventional strait jacket that has hampered the development of Shakespeare on audio. We are as much in the twenty-first century as in medieval Scotland the tensions, the politics, the struggle for power and dark ambition is part of ou...

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.‘O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mockThe meat it feeds on.’Othello follows the story of the Moor through love, jealousy...

Blackstone Audio is proud to present the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2014 production of The Tempest, Shakespeare's magical romantic comedy, directed by Tony Taccone. This stunning work of audio theater, fully dramatized with performances by the OSF cast, is a must-listen.Rough magic and brave new worlds …For twelve years, the exiled Duke Prospero has waited for this moment: old enemies have sailed too close to his enchanted island, and a mighty storm has...

William Shakespeare's shortest—but one of his most popular—tragedies features a man who will do anything to fulfill a prophecy that will lead him to become the King of Scotland. Fresh from battle, Macbeth and his companion Banquo come across three witches who tell of great power that is in store for Macbeth. Driven by their prophecy and aided by his wife, Macbeth sets out on a journey that is wrought with deceit, murder, and suffering to acquire the throne of Scotland. At each and every tu...

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumviri and the future first emperor of Rome. The tr...

Mad with jealousy, King Leontes of Sicilia orders his best friend Polixenes killed, his child abandoned, and his wife put on trial for adultery. Sixteen years later, Perdita, raised as a shepherd's daughter, falls in love with Polixenes's royal son and returns to her father's kingdom.

Mistaken identity (which the Elizabethans called “Error”) is nearly always amusing, whether on the stage or in actual life. The Comedy of Errors is a play in which this situation is developed to the extreme of improbability – but we lose sight of this improbability in the roaring fun which results. Nowadays we should call a play of this type a farce, since most of the fun comes from situations which are improbable and the play depends on these for success, rather than on character...

The play begins with the guards of Elsinore Castle encountering the ghost of the recently deceased King Hamlet, the father of Prince Hamlet. The ghost appears to be a harbinger of doom, hinting at foul play surrounding the former king's death. Prince Hamlet is informed of this mysterious apparition and decides to meet the ghost, who reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, who has now assumed the throne and married Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is deeply disturbed by this revelat...

Proteus loves Julia in Verona, Valentine loves Silvia in Milan. But when Proteus meets Silvia, he falls for her too, and the heartbroken Julia sets out in pursuit.This delightful and sometimes disquieting early comedy of love lost and found offers lyrical poetry, disguise, clowning, outlaws, and a most unreliable dog.Proteus is played by Michael Maloney and Valentine by Damian Lewis. Silvia is Saskia Wickham, Julia is Lucy Robinson, and John Woodvine plays Launce.

Helena, the low-born ward of a French countess, is in love with the countess' son, Bertram, who is indifferent to her. Bertram goes to Paris to replace his late father as attendant to the ailing King of France.Helena, the daughter of a recently deceased doctor, follows Bertram, ostensibly to offer the King her services as a healer. The King is sceptical, and she guarantees the cure with her life: if he dies, she will be put to death, but if he lives, she may choose a husband from t...