Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Graphic Novel

by Steve Barlow, Steve Skidmore, Jason Millet (Illustrator)

Shakespeare's Macbeth like you've never seen it - or read it - before!

Classics in Graphics: Macbeth has been adapted into a graphic novel by expert authors, Steve Skidmore and Steve Barlow, with illustrations by Jason Millet and Edu Rubio. The tragic downfall reads like your favourite action film - as Macbeth's desperation becomes more and more deadly.

Classics in Graphics is a series of graphic novels for children aged 10 plus that has inclusion at its heart, flinging wide the doors of literature for everyone to enter and understand. Including dyslexia-friendly design on every page, and encouraging readers to relate to these iconic roles - casting spells, falling in love and winning duels.

Each graphic novel includes pitch-perfect illustrations for presenting the tragic, the romantic, the comedic, the magical, as well as:

- snappy simplified text presenting Shakespeare's themes clearly
- introductory materials to help set the scene and context of each story
- heaps of extra material at the back to keep the learning and fun going, including an exploration of themes in the play, the language, Shakespeare's inspirations, the publication and performance of the play in history, a timeline of Shakespeare's life and works, and much more!

112 pages, Hardcover

Published August 11, 2022

About the author

Steve Barlow (real name Steven Lowe) was born in Britain. He studied at Warwick University and Nottingham University, and worked at various times as a teacher, actor, stage manager and puppeteer. Then he went to teach in Botswana. On his return to the UK he met Steve Skidmore, collectively known as The Two Steves—are British collaborative writers who mostly work in the field of children's literature. They have written over 70 books together.

Reviews

[Wenxin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My English teacher lend it to me so I read it
It is SO much easier to understand than the original play (that I’m still struggling to read)
Plus it is also well drawn

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations!

[Lindsay Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy read of the classic Hamlet. This is the first time I've ever read Hamlet, so I was glad to do it in an easy to digest format.

I'd recommend to anyone who feels this is a story they should read as this has all the bits in it that I'd heard of, like the three witches and the blood spots that won't come out.

I'll probably read some of the other books in this series as there are lots of Shakespeare's plays I haven't ever read.

[Tasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get wanting to simplify Shakespeare's work for a younger audience, but considering this is for kids 10+ years it does feel over-simplified and very basic. I feel like they could've done a lot more with this, it just feels like a simple overview of each act which briefly touches on the story of Macbeth.

[Mabel]

This was a really good way to introduce me to the story and characters of Macbeth. The drawings really brought the characters to life. It also had information about the history of the book at the start and end.

[Fani Tr Kem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετική μεταφορά του θεατρικού έργου του Σαίξπηρ σε graphic novel. Ευκολοδιάβαστο και εντελώς page turner αφού η εικονογράφιση σε συνδυασμό με τους διαλόγους βοηθάει να σε συνεπάρει η δράση.
Υπέροχο δώρο για όσ@ς θέλουν να διαβάσουν Σαίξπηρ... με λίγο πιο ανάλαφρο τρόπο!

[A y a · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ✨

[Nahin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Martin Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get this was intended as a younger introduction to Shakespeare but c’mon that was a bit too simplified.

Nice illustration tho

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW FOR DEATH, BLOOD, MURDER, SUICIDE, WAR, DEATH OF PARENTS, THREATS OF DEATH TO A CHILD, CHILDBIRTH

[Leah]

bro saw three things happen and thought must complete this fabricated illusion.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. The story leant itself well to graphic novel. The art style fitted the story and was really nice to look at.

[Oz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any attempt at presenting Macbeth in a child friendly way is a little jarring, so the tone can be weird, but overall a nice adaptation.