King Lear Thrift Study Edition

Includes the unabridged text of Shakespeare's classic play plus a complete study guide that features scene-by-scene summaries, explanations and discussions of the plot, question-and-answer sections, author biography, historical background, and more.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9

Each book opens with a list of characters and a description of the setting. Background information, a short synopsis, famous phrases from the play, and a biographical sketch of Shakespeare are also included. Described as titles for reluctant readers, each slim volume is written in large-sized font and includes full-color illustrations covering between two to five panels per age. All dialogue has been extracted from the original play, which exposes readers to Shakespearean language. Explanatory text boxes judiciously placed throughout the panels enhance readers' understanding of characters, actions, and events. With substantial front and back matter, these adaptations seem best suited for instructional purposes. Additional explanation, discussion, and further reading may be required if young readers are to understand the Shakespearean phrases and interlocking plots as well as the subject matter of these plays: madness, human suffering, suicide, revenge, and murder. However, the books will serve as introductions to the Bard for older, reluctant readers. Dunn's illustrations for Hamlet and King Lear were done in a straightforward style and have rich, dramatic colors. Espinosa's use of a limited color palette for A Midsummer Night's Dream suits the moonlight setting. This adaptation's inclusion of Puck's rhyming introduction to the characters is a delightful addition.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Stanley Wells ran the Oxford Shakespeare Dept. within OUP for the years in which the Complete Works were in preparation; and he is the general editor of The Oxford Shakespeare/Oxford World's Classics Shakespeare series in which the present volume appears. He is also co-general editor of the new Oxford Shakespeare Topics series. Formerly Director of the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, he is now Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Professor Emeritus in the University of Birmingham.

Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor were the general editors of the Oxford Complete Works of Shakespeare.

Gary Taylor [WHOSE TEXT WAS USED, WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS, FOR THE PRESENT EDITION] is co-general-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Thomas Middleton edition.