Jonathan Bate

A dazzling biography of two interwoven, tragic lives: John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald. ‘Highly engaging … Go now, read this book’ THE TIMES ‘For awhile after you quit Keats,’ Fitzgerald once wrote, ‘All other poetry seems to be only whistling or humming.’ John Keats died two hundred years ago, in February 1821. F. Scott Fitzgerald defined a decade that...

‘Enlightening, moving’ SIR IAN MCKELLEN From the acclaimed and bestselling biographer Jonathan Bate, a luminous new exploration of Shakespeare and how his themes can untangle comedy and tragedy, learning and loving in our modern lives. ‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.’ How does one survive the death of a loved one, the...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s most loved comedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Measure for Measure in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are three interviews with a leading director and two...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s great drama of ambition, desire and guilt. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Macbeth in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are three interviews with leading directors –...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s magnificent tragedy of love, jealousy and explosive racial politics. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Othello in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s gripping political and personal tragedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Coriolanus in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading directors – Gregory Doran...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's enduringly popular comedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Merry Wives of Windsor in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading directors and...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's journey into the Forest of Arden. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of As You Like It in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with important Shakespearean...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's anarchic comedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Comedy of Errors in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with three leading directors – Paul Hunter,...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s magical late play. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Cymbeline in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading directors – Dominic Cooke and Emma...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's epic retelling of the Wars of the Roses. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Henry VI in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's touching fable of loss and reunion. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Pericles in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with three leading directors and an...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's ambiguous, bittersweet fairy tale. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of All’s Well that Ends Well in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with important directors Gregory...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company, a modern, definitive edition of two of Shakespeare's classical plays. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Titus Andronicus and Timon of Athens in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with three leading directors...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's most unusual and provocative histories. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of King John and Henry VIII in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with three leading...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's bittersweet comedy of courtship and ethnic tension. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Merchant of Venice in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's exuberant early comedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Two Gentlemen of Verona in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with acclaimed directors David Thacker...

Ben Jonson famously accused Shakespeare of having 'small Latin and less Greek.' But he was exaggerating. Shakespeare was steeped in the classics. Shaped by his grammar school education in Roman literature, history, and rhetoric, he moved to London, a city that modelled itself on ancient Rome. He worked in a theatrical profession that had inherited the conventions and forms of...

This fresh edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets, developed by and for the Royal Shakespeare Company, features a Foreword by the actor/director, Fiona Shaw. Its easily accessible layout and elegant design make it the ideal gift for any special occasion.

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s drama of the conflict between one man’s ambition and the good of the state. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Julius Caesar in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company – a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare’s immortal love story. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of Antony and Cleopatra in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with three leading directors – Adrian Noble,...

Authoritative, surprising, evocative and original, Shakespeare: staging the world offers a completely new approach to one of the most exceptional creative imaginations in history. While matters of religion, trade and war were being contested, the role of the playwright developed to inform, persuade and provoke debate on the concerns of the day. This richly illustrated book presents an extraordinary collection...