Farah Karim-Cooper

Eight exciting Shakespeare retellings for kids, alongside the story of his life and the history of Tudor London, all beautifully illustrated. Introduce your child to the work of William Shakespeare in this gorgeous treasury for all the family to enjoy. By expertly reimagining eight of the Bard’s most famous plays, Dr Farah Karim-Cooper breathes new life into these well-loved works, making them highly engaging for a new generation of fans. Including child-friendly summaries of eight renowned Shakespeare plays:Romeo and JulietMacbethThe Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of DenmarkA Midsummer Night’s DreamAs You Like ItThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of VeniceThe TempestThe Merchant of VeniceAdditional features:Fun facts about the life and times of Shakespeare, plus interesting information on how they created the sounds and smells in The Tempest, and the magic and fairies in A Midsummer Night’s DreamBeautifully illustrated throughout, with charming representations of popular characters and scenes from each playA fantastic educational gift for children aged 7-11 or a brilliant classroom resource, created to instil artistic passion in a new generation of theatre enthusiastsWith insightful and engaging storytelling combined with historical context and key themes for each play, readers will discover how Shakespeare gives us tools to think about the world today – and realise that Shakespeare really is for everyone, across every age group and time period!

SHAKESPEARE: increasingly irrelevant or lone literary genius of the Western canon? Professor Farah Karim-Cooper grew up loving the Bard, perhaps because Romeo and Juliet felt Pakistani to her. But why was being white as a ‘snowy dove’ essential to Juliet’s beauty? Combining piercing analysis of race, gender and otherness in beloved plays from Othello to The Tempest with a radical reappraisal of Elizabethan London, The Great White Bard entreats us neither to idealise nor to fossilise Shakespeare but instead to look him in the eye and reckon with the discomforts of his plays, playhouses and society. If we persist in reading Shakespeare as representative of only one group, as the very pinnacle of the white Western canon, then he will truly be in peril. But if we dare to bring Shakespeare down from his plinth, we might unveil a playwright for the twenty-first century. We might expand and enrich his extraordinary legacy. We might even fall in love with him all over again.

Professor Farah Karim-Cooper grew up loving the Bard, perhaps because Romeo and Juliet felt Pakistani to her. But why was being white as a 'snowy dove' essential to Juliet's beauty? Combining piercing analysis of race, gender and otherness in beloved plays from Othello to The Tempest with a radical reappraisal of Elizabethan London, The Great White Bard entreats us neither to idealise nor to fossilise Shakespeare but instead to look him in the eye and reckon with the discomforts of his plays, playhouses and society. If we persist in reading Shakespeare as representative of only one group, as the very pinnacle of the white Western canon, then he will truly be in peril. But if we dare to bring Shakespeare down from his plinth, we might unveil a playwright for the twenty-first century. We might expand and enrich his extraordinary legacy. We might even fall in love with him all over again.