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Shakespeare for Grown-ups: everything You Need to Know About the Bard
If you’ve always felt a bit embarrassed at your precarious grasp on the plot of Othello, then this is the book for you!
For parents helping with their children’s homework, casual theatre-goers who want to enhance their enjoyment of the most popular plays and the general reader who feels they should probably know more about Britain’s most splendid scribe, Shakespeare for Grown-ups covers Shakespeare's times; his personal life; his language; his key themes; his less familiar works and characters; his most famous speeches and quotations; phrases and words that have entered general usage, and much more.
Every purchase you make supports the work of Shakespeare's Globe. Thank you!
Detail
Author: E Foley & B Coates
Format: Paperback
Size: 128 mm x 198 mm
Pages: 326
Staff Review
Even though I work for Shakespeare's Globe, embarrassingly I don't actually know that much about the Bard and his works. So a book claiming to provide me with everything I need to know about the Bard is a very intriguing prospect. With the recent trend of interesting data presentation, I was glad to see that Foley and Coates' book follow suit. With interesting graphs, diagrams and timelines peppered through the book, it's a great way to learn more about Shakespeare in a visually stimulating way. This definitely isn't an English textbook. It’s a great book to have for reference, I will definitely be using it the next time I’d like to find out more about a play before seeing it.
The book is structured in a few sections, focusing on Shakespeare’s biography, plays and poetry. The biography section is very interesting to learn what may have influenced Shakespeare as well as the cultural landscape of the time. The book includes lots of mini-sections that provide information on things like the background of tragedies, Shakespeare’s collaborators or glossaries of Shakespearean language. Lots of good pub quiz knowledge for a Shakespeare round. As the book is only 250 pages long you can’t expect in-depth analysis of all the plays, but the aim of the book is probably to encourage people to read or see the plays for themselves. The plays section of the book is broken up in Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. Whilst all the plays are given a summary at the beginning of the book, Foley and Coates only go into more detail for the most famous plays. In these sections, a summary, key themes and quotes are provided. It’s a great way to get a feel for a play before seeing it.
The tone is very informal and friendly throughout, which makes the book an easy read. This is especially good for those who perceive Shakespeare as inaccessible. It's also nice to have a significant amount of information about Shakespeare in one concise location. I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about Shakespeare and his works as the colloquial language makes the book really easy to read and understand. It’s a great starting off point for people who want to get into the plays and have a fuller understanding before watching them.
Review by Gillian, Development Assistant
Delivery
We aim to deliver shop products within:
UK – 1-2 weeks
Europe – 2-4 weeks
Rest of world – 2-4 weeks
We offer free UK delivery on orders over £30.
- Royal Mail – untracked
- DHL Next Day Delivery at checkout
International shipping options:
- Global Mail - Tracked standard service
- Express Worldwide – faster delivery with tracking
Made-to-order items
Some products are shipped directly from our suppliers. If your order includes both made-to-order and stocked items, they may arrive in separate parcels. For more details, visit our Delivery & Returns page.
Manufacturer contact information
Penguin Random House UK
80 Strand
London, WC2R 0RL
United Kingdom
EU Authorised Representative Information
Penguin Random House Ireland
Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street
Dublin D02 YH68
Ireland
eu-contact.penguin.ie
If you’ve always felt a bit embarrassed at your precarious grasp on the plot of Othello, then this is the book for you!
For parents helping with their children’s homework, casual theatre-goers who want to enhance their enjoyment of the most popular plays and the general reader who feels they should probably know more about Britain’s most splendid scribe, Shakespeare for Grown-ups covers Shakespeare's times; his personal life; his language; his key themes; his less familiar works and characters; his most famous speeches and quotations; phrases and words that have entered general usage, and much more.
Every purchase you make supports the work of Shakespeare's Globe. Thank you!
Detail
Author: E Foley & B Coates
Format: Paperback
Size: 128 mm x 198 mm
Pages: 326
Staff Review
Even though I work for Shakespeare's Globe, embarrassingly I don't actually know that much about the Bard and his works. So a book claiming to provide me with everything I need to know about the Bard is a very intriguing prospect. With the recent trend of interesting data presentation, I was glad to see that Foley and Coates' book follow suit. With interesting graphs, diagrams and timelines peppered through the book, it's a great way to learn more about Shakespeare in a visually stimulating way. This definitely isn't an English textbook. It’s a great book to have for reference, I will definitely be using it the next time I’d like to find out more about a play before seeing it.
The book is structured in a few sections, focusing on Shakespeare’s biography, plays and poetry. The biography section is very interesting to learn what may have influenced Shakespeare as well as the cultural landscape of the time. The book includes lots of mini-sections that provide information on things like the background of tragedies, Shakespeare’s collaborators or glossaries of Shakespearean language. Lots of good pub quiz knowledge for a Shakespeare round. As the book is only 250 pages long you can’t expect in-depth analysis of all the plays, but the aim of the book is probably to encourage people to read or see the plays for themselves. The plays section of the book is broken up in Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. Whilst all the plays are given a summary at the beginning of the book, Foley and Coates only go into more detail for the most famous plays. In these sections, a summary, key themes and quotes are provided. It’s a great way to get a feel for a play before seeing it.
The tone is very informal and friendly throughout, which makes the book an easy read. This is especially good for those who perceive Shakespeare as inaccessible. It's also nice to have a significant amount of information about Shakespeare in one concise location. I’d recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about Shakespeare and his works as the colloquial language makes the book really easy to read and understand. It’s a great starting off point for people who want to get into the plays and have a fuller understanding before watching them.
Review by Gillian, Development Assistant
Delivery
We aim to deliver shop products within:
UK – 1-2 weeks
Europe – 2-4 weeks
Rest of world – 2-4 weeks
We offer free UK delivery on orders over £30.
- Royal Mail – untracked
- DHL Next Day Delivery at checkout
International shipping options:
- Global Mail - Tracked standard service
- Express Worldwide – faster delivery with tracking
Made-to-order items
Some products are shipped directly from our suppliers. If your order includes both made-to-order and stocked items, they may arrive in separate parcels. For more details, visit our Delivery & Returns page.
Manufacturer contact information
Penguin Random House UK
80 Strand
London, WC2R 0RL
United Kingdom
EU Authorised Representative Information
Penguin Random House Ireland
Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street
Dublin D02 YH68
Ireland
eu-contact.penguin.ie
