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Shakespeare Stories #13
Macbeth
When Macbeth, an ambitious general of the Scottish army, is told by witches that one day he will be king, he becomes consumed by thoughts of royalty and greatness. Encouraged by his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth decides to hasten the prophesy and plots to murder the king, so he can take the crown...
A dramatic retelling of this classic Shakespearean tragedy.
A dramatic retelling of this classic Shakespearean tragedy.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
31 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Matthews
128 books24 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Andrew Matthews was born in South Glamorgan in 1948. Andrew taught English in Hampshire after which he became a full-time writer. He lives in Reading with his wife and their cats. Andrew's work has been widely translated and he has made numerous appearances at schools and libraries throughout the UK.
Source: United Agents.
Andrew Matthews was born in South Glamorgan in 1948. Andrew taught English in Hampshire after which he became a full-time writer. He lives in Reading with his wife and their cats. Andrew's work has been widely translated and he has made numerous appearances at schools and libraries throughout the UK.
Source: United Agents.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
November 5, 2018
Love Macbeth and loved this short version.
December 18, 2025
Trying and 100% failing to complete the all 58 genres challenge on Storygraph (Yes, goodreads, this isn’t an exclusive relationship). I am at 41. So this out of the blue gift from a friend who knows I love Shakespeare, have never read Macbeth and I am too strapped for time to read original text and the 2-4 context setting books that my particular kind of neurosis requires me to read, and therefore gets me an illustrated children’s variant. Now, that’s a friend that knows you; and to be known is to be loved.
April 27, 2018
I must confess that I am not a great Shakespeare fan, I am interested in the man himself but most of his works do not appeal to me (I did enjoy 'Julius Caesar' when at school). I thought, therefore, that I would read 'A Shakespeare Story' as adapted by others to see if that held any more appeal to me than did the actual works themselves.
I chose 'Macbeth' because it is my daughter's favourite Shakespeare play and because one hears so much about it. I was not particularly thrilled although it did keep my interest and the illustrations were quirky enough to enhance the text.
Perhaps the best thing about this edition is that there are two essays at the end, 'Evil in Macbeth' and 'Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre'. In the former, the author tells us that Shakespeare wrote the play in 1605, four years after James I took the throne and that he wrote the three witches into it to flatter the new monarch who had previously written a book about witchcraft and who had granted Shakespeare's acting company the title of 'The King's Men' in 1603.
He goes on to suggest that the evil in the play does not come from the witches but from Macbeth himself; well, murdering King Duncan and then condemning Duncan's sons as murderers speaks for itself! But in the end Macbeth loses everything; his wife goes mad and dies and when the English army invaded Scotland his noblemen turned against him. The promises that the witches made to Macbeth proved to be hollow and Macduff kills him - retribution for Macbeth executing Macduff's wife and children.
Interestingly he suggests that the play was the 16th-century equivalent of a modern horror story and that the changes that come over Macbeth's character suggest that the potential for evil is 'lurking inside us all'. He then warns '... we must constantly be on guard against it' - yes, indeed!
As for the second essay, The Globe was built on the South Bank of the River Thames in 1599 and because it was an open air theatre, plays were only put on during daylight hours in spring and summer. There were no actresses on stage as all the female characters were played by boys, wearing wigs and make-up.
People paid a penny to stand in the central space and watch and those who did just that were known as 'the groundlings' because they stood on the ground. Others took their place in the tiers of seating and had a better view of proceedings but had to pay extra for the privilege. And because the Elizabethans did not bathe very often, the audiences were generally rather smelly and the ladies in the upper tiers often sniffed perfume and bags of sweetly-scented herbs to cover the stink rising from the groundlings!
Spectators cheered when their favourite actors entered the stage and bad actors were jeered at and sometimes pelted with whatever came to hand! Well there would have been plenty of that going on during a performance of 'Macbeth'.
I will probably give Shakespeare's works, in whatever form, a miss for a while now.
I chose 'Macbeth' because it is my daughter's favourite Shakespeare play and because one hears so much about it. I was not particularly thrilled although it did keep my interest and the illustrations were quirky enough to enhance the text.
Perhaps the best thing about this edition is that there are two essays at the end, 'Evil in Macbeth' and 'Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre'. In the former, the author tells us that Shakespeare wrote the play in 1605, four years after James I took the throne and that he wrote the three witches into it to flatter the new monarch who had previously written a book about witchcraft and who had granted Shakespeare's acting company the title of 'The King's Men' in 1603.
He goes on to suggest that the evil in the play does not come from the witches but from Macbeth himself; well, murdering King Duncan and then condemning Duncan's sons as murderers speaks for itself! But in the end Macbeth loses everything; his wife goes mad and dies and when the English army invaded Scotland his noblemen turned against him. The promises that the witches made to Macbeth proved to be hollow and Macduff kills him - retribution for Macbeth executing Macduff's wife and children.
Interestingly he suggests that the play was the 16th-century equivalent of a modern horror story and that the changes that come over Macbeth's character suggest that the potential for evil is 'lurking inside us all'. He then warns '... we must constantly be on guard against it' - yes, indeed!
As for the second essay, The Globe was built on the South Bank of the River Thames in 1599 and because it was an open air theatre, plays were only put on during daylight hours in spring and summer. There were no actresses on stage as all the female characters were played by boys, wearing wigs and make-up.
People paid a penny to stand in the central space and watch and those who did just that were known as 'the groundlings' because they stood on the ground. Others took their place in the tiers of seating and had a better view of proceedings but had to pay extra for the privilege. And because the Elizabethans did not bathe very often, the audiences were generally rather smelly and the ladies in the upper tiers often sniffed perfume and bags of sweetly-scented herbs to cover the stink rising from the groundlings!
Spectators cheered when their favourite actors entered the stage and bad actors were jeered at and sometimes pelted with whatever came to hand! Well there would have been plenty of that going on during a performance of 'Macbeth'.
I will probably give Shakespeare's works, in whatever form, a miss for a while now.
July 5, 2020
This is a fun quick recap of Macbeth.
September 14, 2021
Good summary jzt weiß ich den Plot also muss ich nicht so viel aufpassen im Unterricht 👌🏼
December 22, 2021
"life goes on, day after day, but it means nothing... It ends in despair and darkness.... And death"
June 10, 2025
yes i’m including my class book reads - we all loved macbeth
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June 1, 2016It was bloody. It was interesting. It was about a man that became evil.
October 1, 2024
Brilliant 👏 This is one of my fav Shakespeare writings because it shows a good man becoming a tyrant but in the end justice served.
I love how the authors of these books are putting Shakespeare’s works into modern language, great for easy understanding and then at the back of the book there is an explanation, an overview of it to help too.
Great for anyone studying Shakespeare! Or if, like me, you just want a refresher and enjoy reading his writings! 😄
I love how the authors of these books are putting Shakespeare’s works into modern language, great for easy understanding and then at the back of the book there is an explanation, an overview of it to help too.
Great for anyone studying Shakespeare! Or if, like me, you just want a refresher and enjoy reading his writings! 😄
September 26, 2020
The story of an over ambitious honest General who’s evil temptations turn him to tyrant ,forcing him to take the wrong path. He is driven by uncontrollable desire and greed. His lady pushed him harder in his wrong doings and it all ended up in grief n disaster for Macbeth and his wife. Finally justice prevailed.
November 22, 2024
l'opera di shakespeare che preferisco in assoluto, ma devo ammettere, riccardo iii rende di più illustrata e raccontata come un libro per bambini, perché il protagonista principale è più carismatico, macbeth è un equilibrio tra ogni elemento ! in macbeth bisogna usare la tecnica del racconto mitologico, che qua non c'è
February 19, 2022
Shakespeare plays can be quite complicated to read due to its language which is used. I feel like this book tells the story of Macbeth in a nice and easy way to read to make it more enjoyable for kids. This was a really good book and I will definitely be reading the others!
February 3, 2022
Great summary of the play- covering key points of the story- for children (and people who happen to need to recap the play.)
August 6, 2020
Just needed a quick read.
August 16, 2012
Noble Scotsman Macbeth meets 3 witches during a storm who tell him he will be king. A unique series of events which follow make Macbeth believe that destiny in fact has it set that he will be leader, motivated by this spell Macbeth murders King Duncan with the help of Lady Macbeth and he is knighted King of Scotland.
Overcome by the guilt in the time following Duncans passing Lady MAcbeth takes her own life, although struggling after this Macbeth still doesnt understand reality and keeps himself illusioned under the witches spell. Knowing that Banquo's children will eventually rule Scotland he orders them also to be killed. Macbeth was still in 'fool's paradise' and was living according to what the witches had said, not in what was happening in real life. He ignored Macduffs march from the south and was ambushed with his army turned against him and with no stomach for battle and defend their fallen King.
Although relatively short this book is a very good deminstration of a Shakesphere classic. It would be very useful in the 8-12yr category as it is a good yet simple introduction to Shakesphere. All children will go onto read a higher level and greater amount of Shakesphere in KS3 and GCSE English in their second level education so this short story will be a huge help for them to understand the wording phrases and layout of Shakesphere, which for young children can be very difficult to understand. This book is a great idea as it rescales Macbeth to a childrens level.
Overcome by the guilt in the time following Duncans passing Lady MAcbeth takes her own life, although struggling after this Macbeth still doesnt understand reality and keeps himself illusioned under the witches spell. Knowing that Banquo's children will eventually rule Scotland he orders them also to be killed. Macbeth was still in 'fool's paradise' and was living according to what the witches had said, not in what was happening in real life. He ignored Macduffs march from the south and was ambushed with his army turned against him and with no stomach for battle and defend their fallen King.
Although relatively short this book is a very good deminstration of a Shakesphere classic. It would be very useful in the 8-12yr category as it is a good yet simple introduction to Shakesphere. All children will go onto read a higher level and greater amount of Shakesphere in KS3 and GCSE English in their second level education so this short story will be a huge help for them to understand the wording phrases and layout of Shakesphere, which for young children can be very difficult to understand. This book is a great idea as it rescales Macbeth to a childrens level.
November 17, 2018
Confession: I love Shakespeare, I just for the life of me don't understand him when I read it on my own. I need to read it in a group setting, because my ADD-ass doesn't understand it AT ALL. So I decided to try these out. I covered Macbeth in high school so I thought it would be a good comparison and honestly, it's the whole story, but with a lot less FLUFF and extra stuff that was unnecessary. Needless to say that I really enjoyed it and will pick up the other ones as well! Shakespeare is a lot of "reaching the word count" and dick jokes, so I'm glad these little books are here to help
October 19, 2016
Ellie read this book during nap time for CC2 wk6. She liked it but likes the Usborne Shakespeare book better...krb 10/17/16
March 1, 2020
The tragedy of Macbeth is one where once ruthless ambition starts it feeds on itself until the perpetrators are themselves destroyed. After a very successful battle, the leader of the forces of King Duncan (Macbeth) and his best friend Banquo are returning to camp when they encounter three witches that make predictions that astound them. As a consequence of his victory, Macbeth begins thinking about his becoming king, which would of course require the death of Duncan.
Spurred on by Lady Macbeth and with help from some nebulous spirit forces, Macbeth kills Duncan and is proclaimed king. However, the thoughts of what he did haunt him and make him uncertain and fearful. His course of action is then to have Banquo and his son murdered. In the manner of tyrants throughout history, Macbeth’s only recourse is to become even more tyrannical, leading to opposition in his kingdom and the death of both Lady Macbeth and him.
Starting with the three witches, this Shakespearean tale features a great deal of supernatural events. This book is an excellent, modern, abbreviated version of this story, serving as a primer for young readers. Since this Shakespearean story is about a ruthless rise to the top and that has been a consistent feature of human existence, this is very much a universal and timeless tale.
Spurred on by Lady Macbeth and with help from some nebulous spirit forces, Macbeth kills Duncan and is proclaimed king. However, the thoughts of what he did haunt him and make him uncertain and fearful. His course of action is then to have Banquo and his son murdered. In the manner of tyrants throughout history, Macbeth’s only recourse is to become even more tyrannical, leading to opposition in his kingdom and the death of both Lady Macbeth and him.
Starting with the three witches, this Shakespearean tale features a great deal of supernatural events. This book is an excellent, modern, abbreviated version of this story, serving as a primer for young readers. Since this Shakespearean story is about a ruthless rise to the top and that has been a consistent feature of human existence, this is very much a universal and timeless tale.
May 19, 2020
While I did not like this story as much as Hamlet, I still believe that this is one of the better stories that Shakespeare came up with. I found it very interesting how Macbeth went from being a very loyal general to the King of Scotland to killing him and taking the throne for himself after being told by three witches that he was destined to be king. I also found it gruelling how Shakespeare displayed Macbeth as being a tyrant when he took the kingship of Scotland and began to execute anybody who he believed were plotting his downfall. Overall, this was one of the better stories that I believe that Shakespeare came up with as it shows the reader what may happen when a person becomes too greedy and only lusts for power above all other things. Once again, I believe that Andrew Matthews successfully adapted the original play to make it easy for anyone to understand what transpired in the actual play.
January 14, 2020
I finished the book 📖 in one stretch because we have studied this in school 🏫 in depth and also role played one of the famous songs . “ double double toil and trouble 🧹 fire 🔥 burn a cauldron bubble.” I also went to a theatre and watched the play .
The storyline is interesting because there is a persuasive language besides thriller and action is fun to read. Lots of killing and stabbing, means too many twists and turns. The end is surprisingly the king who survived was genuinely good, though king Duncan died.... it was fun! 🥳
-⭐️mreen
The storyline is interesting because there is a persuasive language besides thriller and action is fun to read. Lots of killing and stabbing, means too many twists and turns. The end is surprisingly the king who survived was genuinely good, though king Duncan died.... it was fun! 🥳
-⭐️mreen
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2023
This is a 4.5 stars for me
This book is such a fun read if say if you struggle reading Shakespeare these are the best alternatives and there is also a nice summary at the end and it includes quotes from the texts. Definitely one of love to see more people reading
I'm not joking when I'm telling you this made me want to go but Macbeth and read it straight away . I hope the whole set is the same because i do actually enjoy Shakespeare and can't wait to read more
This book is such a fun read if say if you struggle reading Shakespeare these are the best alternatives and there is also a nice summary at the end and it includes quotes from the texts. Definitely one of love to see more people reading
I'm not joking when I'm telling you this made me want to go but Macbeth and read it straight away . I hope the whole set is the same because i do actually enjoy Shakespeare and can't wait to read more
August 3, 2017
This story was talk about a knight overthrow the King and be the King. By the way I think this story content also ok the characters in the story can show their feeling and their action clearly. I love the main character Macbeth most ,because his behaviour is most bold and attract me continue to read this book
May 16, 2022
This was my first encounter with bard kind. Well except from being dragged through merchant of Venice in school.
To say it's retold for children, I still found it pretty creepy - the witches in the mist, the murders of Macbeth, Macbeth's wife wishing evil and cruelty into her heart and of course the ending. Which I won't spoil for those who haven't read this tense story.
GO WILL!
To say it's retold for children, I still found it pretty creepy - the witches in the mist, the murders of Macbeth, Macbeth's wife wishing evil and cruelty into her heart and of course the ending. Which I won't spoil for those who haven't read this tense story.
GO WILL!
November 8, 2023
This is an older book for young readers by Andrew Matthews that introduces the sad and also frightening tale of Shakespeare's Macbeth. With some comic-style illustrations by Tony Ross, it would have been a great read aloud during October for Halloween. Morally there are some parts to discuss, of course. Doing bad deeds from greed for power does not end well, does it?
December 25, 2017
3.5 stars
I want to read more Shakespeare's but didn't know where to start so I bought the kids versions of his works. They are easy to understand and have some nice illustrations to look at, plus the covers are in my opinion so cute.
Intriguing with lots of action I may read the original...
I want to read more Shakespeare's but didn't know where to start so I bought the kids versions of his works. They are easy to understand and have some nice illustrations to look at, plus the covers are in my opinion so cute.
Intriguing with lots of action I may read the original...
February 7, 2018
I've read macbeth before when I did gcse English and although I'm 25 I wanted this collection of children's Shakespeare books as I felt that they would be much quicker to read and a lot easier to understand. I did enjoy this read though it's a very brutal story.
October 13, 2018
We read this as a family before taking the kids to see a community production of Macbeth. This is a good simplified retelling of the plot with stylized illustrations that kept our kids' interest, probably because of how gory some of the pictures were.
November 19, 2018
Had to read this in a hurry when I inadvertently started reading another book based on Macbeth..... seems a bit of a swizz including a 5 minute book on here, but these kids' Shakespeare books are fab for a quick recce of the plot.
December 2, 2019
Although this is meant for a younger reader, it was an enjoyable and quick version of one of Shakespeare’s tales. The opening format, explaining the characters is excellent. Looking forward to reading the others.
June 6, 2021
Pretty good. This series of adaptations for young readers is a bit of breezy fun with Blake-like illustrations. This captures well the feel and world of Mackers - with well-matched bloody, gory images. A reader wants more, though...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews