War And Throne: Stories From Shakespeare’S History Plays

The book contains 14 stories adapted from Shakespeare’s 14 history plays, 4 of them deal with ancient Roman history and 10 with the history of Medieval England. A single story has been woven from each play. At the end of each story, the background of the historical events is also provided. The last chapter (Chapter-15) deals with the salient features of Shakespeare’s history plays. This chapter represents the foundation for the stories told in this book. Apart from making in a handy form in one place in story mode the histories dramatized in all the 14 plays of Shakespeare, the objective of this book is also to provide readers, who have not read them in the original, a feel and taste of Shakespeare’s history plays through delightful reading. To the best of my knowledge, there is no book with such a title and contents in the market. In this context, I’d also like to mention that Charles and Mary Lamb’s ‘Tales from Shakespeare’ which was published in 1807 and has tales from Shakespeare’s 20 plays, does not cover even a single History Play of Shakespeare. My book is a response to this void. The book will specifically cater to the interest of the following two categories: (a) Those who enjoy reading stories by flying to Ancient Rome, Cleopatra’s Egypt and Medieval England on the wings of storytelling to explore the thrilling times of ubiquitous warfare, powerful women players in the games of thrones, history’s famous lovers, love affairs, murders, conspiracies, betrayals, young princesses as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations, ghosts, witchcraft, revenge, a cannibalistic banquet, amusing comic situations, London’s seedy part humming with tavern-life, prostitutes and ruffians. (b) Those looking for a book that makes accessible in one place all the fourteen history plays of Shakespeare in story mode. To have a glimpse of the contents, I give below the title of two chapters: ‘Roman General Titus Andronicus, Goth Queen Tamora, and a Cannibalistic Banquet’ ‘King Henry V’s Invasions of France and the French Princess as a Bargaining Chip’ Total Word Count is around 47,500.