Audiobook · read by volunteers
Tales from Shakespeare
Charles Lamb (1775–1834) · Mary Lamb (1764–1847)
Read by Karen Savage · 21 chapters · 8 h 29
About the book
Shakespeare's plays can seem forbidding to a young reader, so in 1807 Charles and Mary Lamb retold them as stories. Their aim was to make the plots and characters clear, keeping Shakespeare's own words wherever they could. The book opens with an author's preface and moves through The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale and Much Ado About Nothing, among many others, in twenty-one chapters. The retellings are graceful and direct, and they have been a first introduction to the plays for generations of readers. Over eight hours, read by LibriVox volunteers, this is a pleasant way to meet the stories before seeing them on stage, or to remember them afterward. Their gentle style and clear structure make this a good book to share with young listeners, and an easy refresher for older ones. Each tale can be heard separately, which suits a bedtime routine.
Introduction
Charles Lamb (1775 to 1834) and his sister Mary (1764 to 1847) were English writers who lived together for most of their adult lives in London. Charles is best known as the essayist who wrote under the name of Elia, and Mary, who suffered from periods of severe illness, was a gifted writer in her own right. Together they produced Tales from Shakespeare, published in 1807, which turned out to be their most successful joint work.
The preface explains their purpose. The tales were meant to introduce young readers to Shakespeare, and wherever possible the authors used his own language so that the readers would grow familiar with it. By tradition, Mary retold the comedies and Charles the tragedies, and the difference of tone can sometimes be felt. The book offers brief and lively accounts of the plots, with an emphasis on the characters and on the moral questions they face.
Retellings of this kind can never replace the plays, and the Lambs knew it. Their book works best as a doorway: a way of learning who is who in the Forest of Arden or on the island of Prospero, before moving on to the full text. For adults who want to refresh their memory of the plays, it is a quick and pleasing guide.
The recording has twenty-one chapters, including the preface, and runs for about eight and a half hours. It is read by volunteers of LibriVox, and can be heard in any order, one play at a time. Several of the plays are included, and the retellings are generally brief, with a clear sense of who is who and what they want. The book remains in print more than two centuries after it first appeared, which says a great deal about its success.
Public domain
Charles Lamb died in 1834: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
Mary Lamb died in 1847: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text