Four Histories

Contains "Richard II", "Henry IV Part 1", "Henry IV Part 2" and "Henry V".

Edited by Paul Davidson and Stanley Wells

The volume contains Richard II, Henry IV Part One, henry IV Part Two, and Henry V. Each play possesses its own distinctive mood, tone and style, and together they inhabit the turbulent period of change from the usurpation of the throne of Richard II by Bolingbroke to the triumph of heroic kingship in Henry V.

Stanley Wells

Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story

'Enjoyable, lively &hellip; such a pleasure to read &hellip; renders the drama of Shakespeare&rsquo;s contemporaries more than fringe entertainment&rsquo; Independent 
 
Shakespeare is one of the greatest of all English figures, considered a genius for all time. Yet as this enthralling book shows, he was at heart a man of the theatre, one among a community of artists in the teeming world of Renaissance London &ndash; from the enigmatic spy Christopher Marlowe to the self-aggrandizing Ben Jonson, from the actor Richard Burbage to the brilliant Thomas Middleton. By bringing Shakespeare&rsquo;s contemporaries to life, Shakespeare &amp; Co throws fresh new light on the man himself. 
 
&lsquo;Warm, cheerful, generous &hellip; Wells sketches a whole gallery of Shakespeare&rsquo;s fellow playwrights &hellip; He brings each vividly to life, making you feel that you&rsquo;ve met them personally in some Blackfriars tavern&rsquo; Simon Callow 
 
&lsquo;It was a time and place teeming with excitement, anecdote and incident, and Wells, in this richly enjoyable work, brings it to life with a novelist&rsquo;s sense of the telling detail&rsquo; Dominic Dromgoole 
 
&lsquo;Enthralling&rsquo; Observer 
 
&lsquo;This is one of the most sane and exciting books on Shakespeare I have read for a long time&rsquo; Scotland on Sunday

Stanley Wells

Books by Stanley Wells

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter