Shakespeare's consuls, cardinals, and kings
Subtitle: the real history behind the plays
By: Dick Riley ; illustrations by Jessa Lowell
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 210
ISBN-13: 9781472555335
Subjects: Knowledge; History; Histories; Characters; Kings and rulers; English Historical drama; History and criticism; English Political plays; Kings and rulers in literature; Historiography; In literature
Description: This title sets the historical context for the events portrayed in Shakespeare's major histories. It reviews the sources he used and analyses how he reshaped that material - often telescoping events and combining characters - to create his dramas. It also offers the insights of later historians about the lives and careers of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and the monarchs King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Henry VIII. Each chapter focuses on the period and lives portrayed in one of these dramas, and also provides a brief guide to available film and video versions.
Notes: Includes index.