BOOK BRIEF

Tales from Shakespeare

Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
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Tales from Shakespeare

Fiction | Play | YA | Published in 2007

Book Brief

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Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb

Tales from Shakespeare

Fiction | Play | YA | Published in 2007
Book Details
Pages

288

Format

Play • Fiction

Setting

Various Locations • Elizabethan Era

Publication Year

2007

Audience

YA

Recommended Reading Age

8-12 years

Lexile Level

960L

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Super Short Summary

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb adapts Shakespeare's plays into prose for a younger audience, maintaining the original themes and characters. The book includes retellings of twelve comedies and eight tragedies, such as "The Tempest" and "Romeo and Juliet," making Shakespeare's works more accessible while preserving their narrative essence.

Informative

Nostalgic

Bittersweet

Reviews & Readership

4.2

6,876 ratings

69%

Loved it

23%

Mixed feelings

7%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb is praised for making Shakespeare's plays accessible to younger audiences, offering engaging and simplified prose. Readers appreciate the clarity and moral focus but some critique the loss of poetic nuance and complexity found in the originals. Overall, it's deemed a valuable introduction to Shakespeare's works.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Tales from Shakespeare?

Readers who enjoy Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb are often young audiences or Shakespeare beginners. They appreciate stories like Grimm's Fairy Tales or The Children's Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit for their narrative simplicity and engaging retellings of classic works.

4.2

6,876 ratings

69%

Loved it

23%

Mixed feelings

7%

Not a fan

Fun Facts

Tales from Shakespeare was published in 1807, created with the intent to make Shakespeare's plays more accessible to young readers and to preserve the essence of the original works.

Charles Lamb wrote the tragedies in the collection, while his sister Mary Lamb took on the task of adapting the comedies.

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Despite its initial purpose for children, Tales from Shakespeare is appreciated by adults and has remained in print for more than two centuries.

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Book Details
Pages

288

Format

Play • Fiction

Setting

Various Locations • Elizabethan Era

Publication Year

2007

Audience

YA

Recommended Reading Age

8-12 years

Lexile Level

960L

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