Shakespeare The Histories, William Shakespeare
Shakespeare The Histories, William Shakespeare
7 Rating(s)
List: $44.99 | Sale: $31.50
Club: $22.49

Shakespeare: The Histories

Author: William Shakespeare, Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire, Timothy West, full cast

Narrator: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire, Timothy West, full cast

Unabridged: 27 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/03/2020


Synopsis

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. All 10 of Shakespeare’s timeless histories, performed by the celebrated Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. Politics, power, and the tragedy of war are played out in these sweeping histories that continue to surprise and entertain. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire, and Timothy West can be heard in these recordings. All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations. Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production. This collection includes 10 histories:• • • • • • • • • • The full casts for each production in this collection can be found in the description of the individual play’s product page.

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill on March 15, 2020

There are lots of things about this play that please and impress me, but somehow I don't think it quite works. The best things about it are two scenes probably by Fletcher: the sympathetic portrait of Katharine of Aragon's self-defense and the dignified soliloquy of the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey aft......more

Goodreads review by James on January 17, 2020

Book Review 3 of 5 stars to Henry VIII, a play written in 1613 by William Shakespeare. This play originally had a different title and there is also some suspicion that it was co-written with another person at the time. It was towards the end of Shakespeare's career where while his brillia......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on February 09, 2017

I can't say that the writing is bad, per-se, more that the topic is unworthy except for being an obligatory propagandist piece to prop up the worthiness of the Anglican church versus the Catholics. I'm sure no one is surprised on this count. There's rather less of the real drama that surrounded the Ki......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on October 20, 2020

This was outrageously bad......more

Goodreads review by Kristi on June 01, 2025

I find Henry VIII and all his wives interesting, but I would round this read down to 3⭐️. It wasn’t great or bad, just there. It was a different Shakespeare one for me because it wasn’t a comedy or a tragedy. It felt more just like reading a piece of history. Interesting, but I am glad I’m done. It......more