Shakespeare's Comedies

by Beverley Birch

This handsome volume features five of the Bard's most outstanding comedies-- A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Della Tingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lolligagged reading this book as I was reading other books simultaneously, but that is not to admit that I did not thoroughly enjoy this read! (Yes, yes! A double negative!) This collection of Shakespeare’s Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, The Taming of The Shrew, and The Tempest are wonderful retellings that can be read and enjoyed without stopping and studying along the way. 🤪

My favorite is Twelfth Night. It was 1:30 in the morning as I was reading. My husband and I were in bed, and I simply could not stop laughing! I was shaking the bed and trying so hard not to disturb my husband. If a story can do that, it’s a hard yes!

Review #2: I fist read this book in 2021, and now have read it a second time. It is a wonderful collection of retellings.

“Orsino loved a woman, who loved Orsino’s page, who was a woman hiding as a man, who loved Orsino” (77). 🤪

“And so Petruchio began the taming of his Kate, by outkating Kate” (97). 🤪

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love anything that brings the genius of William Shakespeare to a child at his/her level. Ms. Birch has accomplished that to the best of any that I have reviewed. The books are written in modern day English in a form that kids can understand, but it is a stepping stone to the next level of reading AND understanding Shakespeare.