Classic Plays

Hamlet is one of the great classics, if not the greatest, of English drama. Set in Denmark, the play recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother.

This annotated edition includes: • A 16,000-word critical study of Aeschylus and the birth of tragedy • The complete Oresteia — the only surviving Greek trilogy • All seven surviving plays, including Prometheus Bound • A life of Aeschylus (c. 525–456 BCE), the soldier of Marathon • The Plumptre verse translation, public domain worldwide Before Aeschylus, there was no drama. One actor faced a chorus, and nothing could happen. He added a second — and with two figures who could disagree, tragedy, and all theatre after it, was born. Aeschylus is the oldest of the great ...

The Game of Life and How to Play It, published in 1925, teaches the philosophies of its author, Florence Scovel Shinn. The book holds that ignorance of, or carelessness, with the application of various 'Laws of Metaphysics' can bring about undesirable life events.

Petruchio arrives in Padua determined to gain his fortune by marrying the volatile Katherina. Their tempestuous meeting and marriage leads to a great love affair. This is perhaps the most famous play ever written about the battle of the sexes. (A full-cast production.)

Everything Agatha Christie would become begins in these thirteen books. This annotated collection includes: • A 15,000-word critical study of the author's first decade • A full life of the author, from wartime dispenser to Queen of Crime • An introduction: how to read the early work • A Note on the Texts and their United States public-domain status • Thirteen complete works, 1920–1930, in one volume Everything the world's best-selling novelist would become begins in these thirteen books. Between 1920 and 1930 an unknown Englishwoman published the novels that invented modern ...

This annotated edition includes: • A 16,000-word critical study of Sophocles and tragedy • All seven surviving plays — everything that came down to us • The complete Theban cycle: Oedipus the King, Colonus, Antigone • A life of Sophocles (c. 497–406 BCE) • The Campbell verse translation, public domain worldwide A king hunts the murderer whose crime has plagued his city, swearing to bring him to justice — and discovers, scene by scene, that the man he is hunting is himself. Oedipus the King is the play on which Aristotle built the theory of tragedy, the play Freud reached for...

The war at Troy did not end when the city fell. For the Greeks who sailed home, and the women they carried off as slaves, the worst was still to come — and it is the tragedians, not Homer, who tell that story. Twenty-five centuries ago, in the open-air theater on the slope of the Athenian Acropolis, three poets created an art form that has never been surpassed. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides took the old stories of gods and heroes — the house of Atreus, the fall of Troy, the curse of Oedipus, the fury of Medea — and turned them into something the world had never seen: tragedy. ...

The witnesses agree on what they saw. Sherlock Holmes does not. Twenty-three-year-old Eleanor Vale is only days away from gaining control of her inheritance when she disappears from a closely watched London house. The evidence seems impossible. Witnesses saw her enter the drawing room dressed for travel. No one saw her leave. A letter suggests she fled willingly. Her family fears scandal. The police see little reason to suspect anything more sinister. But at 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes notices what everyone else has overlooked. The witnesses did not truly see Eleanor Vale. They saw a...

In an era where Shakespeare's majestic works may feel distant, Jeanette Vigon bridges the past and present with her adaptation of "Julius Caesar" for the Simple Shakespeare series. Her contemporary reimagining infuses new life into the classic tale of power, betrayal, and fate, making the dense narrative of political intrigue and moral ambiguity engaging and accessible for today's readers. Vigon preserves the drama's gravity and historical depth while converting its sophisticated oratory into language that speaks to the modern sensibility. Ideal for Shakespeare beginners as well as seasoned...

In the 1880's, an American senator observes, with some perplexity, English country life and all of its social echelons. To add some spice along the way, we follow the romances and intrigues of the flirtatious Arabella Trefoil.

The dead do not sleep in Denmark. Thrice the vision of the suddenly departed king has haunted the night watchmen. Upon seeing his own son, prince Hamlet, the ghost calls him away to divulge most nefarious secret. This most noble king was murdered by his own brother, Hamlet's uncle, who now wears his crown and beds his bride. To the prince he charges with the unholy quest to avenge his death and kill his murderer. Young Hamlet, shocked and amazed, swears to do the bloody deed. Thus begins one of the greatest works by the greatest English author - William Shakespeare.

Jeanette Vigon's adaptation of Macbeth in the Simple Shakespeare series translates Shakespeare's darkest tragedy into contemporary English, making the story of ambition, guilt, and fate accessible without diminishing its power. This retelling preserves the psychological complexity of Shakespeare's characters—Macbeth's descent from honored warrior to murderous tyrant, Lady Macbeth's ruthless ambition and eventual breakdown, and the witches' cryptic prophecies that set catastrophe in motion. Vigon captures the moral conflicts and paranoia that drive the narrative while presenting them in ...

Every word Shakespeare ever wrote — in one volume. This edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare brings together all 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and longer poems in a single, carefully organized collection. From the youthful chaos of The Comedy of Errors to the existential depths of Hamlet, from the passionate tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to the strange grace of The Winter's Tale — the entire Shakespeare canon is here, reorganized by genre and accompanied by original critical material throughout. But this is not just another reprint. WHAT MAKES THIS EDITION DIFFERENT Each of the ...

This compact edition of Florence Scovel Shinn's classic The Game of Life and How to Play It reveals the true you. Your words and thought images are a metaphysical power that, combined with your natural intuitive insights, can bring you prosperity, love, health, and every good thing in life.

Master the art of slow, strategic chess with Classical Chess Made Simple—a complete guide designed to help you think deeper, play smarter, and win more consistently. Whether you're a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an intermediate player aiming to level up, this book breaks down complex chess concepts into clear, practical lessons you can apply immediately. What You’ll Learn How to think like a classical chess player Proven opening principles without memorization Middlegame strategies and planning techniques How to calculate accurately and avoid blunders Endgame ...

In this contemporary reinterpretation of "Much Ado About Nothing," William Shakespeare's comedy of romantic deception finds new life for modern audiences, preserving the original's wit, mischief, and verbal fireworks. Set in a seaside town during the vibrant summer festival season, the story revolves around the sharp-tongued Beatrice and the witty bachelor Benedick, whose verbal sparring provides constant entertainment for their friends and family. Despite their professed contempt for romance, their companions conspire to trick them into falling for each other, leading to moments both comic...

Twelfth Night by Jeanette Vigon, part of the Simple Shakespeare series, translates Shakespeare's comedy into contemporary prose while preserving the original's plot structure and thematic complexity. Unlike adaptations that simplify content for younger readers, this version maintains the full scope of Shakespeare's play—including its exploration of gender, desire, social hierarchy, and self-deception—while rendering the language in modern English. The five-act structure remains intact, allowing readers to experience how Shakespeare constructed his comedic narratives without navigating ...

Blackstone Audio is proud to present seven great plays in a collection that illustrates the development of European drama from ancient times to the threshold of the modern theater: Medea by Euripides, The Tempest by Shakespeare, The Imaginary Invalid by Molière, Camille by Dumas, An Enemy of...

This annotated edition includes: All two hundred and one stories Constance Garnett translated, her thirteen volumes (1916–1922) printed here entire, in her own order, in a single file for the first time All twelve of Chekhov's surviving plays — four from Marian Fell's 1912 volume, eight from Julius West's 1916 volume — the complete dramatic output between them An afterword tracing the six years of hundred-line comic sketches that this edition cannot include, and arguing that they are where Chekhov's method was actually built A biographical portrait, a corrected chronology, and a Note ...

Child's Play (Takekurabe) is one of the most beloved works of modern Japanese literature—a poignant portrait of adolescence set in the vibrant streets and pleasure quarters of Meiji-era Tokyo. In a neighborhood where merchants, laborers, temple families, and courtesans live side by side, a group of children spend their days playing, arguing, dreaming, and testing the boundaries between childhood and adulthood. Among them is the spirited Midori, whose bright personality and fearless energy make her impossible to ignore. Yet as the seasons pass, the carefree world of games and youthful ...