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Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold

Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold

  • Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold by William Shakespeare and James Anthony, with a foreword by Stephen Fry. Read by Stephen Fry, Paapa Essiedu and the author.

'James Anthony has done something I would have confidently stated to be impossible. He has "translated" Shakespeare’s sonnets and he has done so with an insolent, loveable charm … A dazzling success’ – Stephen Fry

Rediscover the greatest love poetry ever written

Shall I compare you to a summer’s day?
You’re more delightful, always shining strong;
High winds blow hard on flowering buds in May,
And summer never seems to last that long…


Shakespeare’s sonnets are some of the nation’s favourite lines of verse, but the Elizabethan language can make it difficult to really understand them. Many guides offer to clarify the meaning, but lose the magic of the words by explaining them away.

James Anthony has done something boldly different.

He has rewritten the whole series of poems as sonnets using modern language, while retaining the rhythm and rhyme patterns that gives them such power. In doing so he breathes new life into the original poems and opens them up for a modern readership, demystifying Shakespeare’s eternal poetry with provocative new translations and delightful new lines.

With the original sonnets read by Stephen Fry, and the modern translations read by Paapa Essiedu, this is a stunning collection of beautiful love poems, made new.

Reviews

  • "James Anthony has done something I would have confidently stated to be impossible. He has ‘translated’ Shakespeare’s sonnets and he has done so with an insolent, loveable charm … A dazzling success"

    Stephen Fry

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About the Author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love poetry in English. Shakespeare died in Stratford in 1616.

William Shakespeare

James Anthony

William Shakespeare (Author) William Shakespeare was born in 1564, the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-upon-Avon, and spent much of his adult life in London. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare’s poetry first appeared in 1593, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton. It is unknown when he wrote each sonnet, but the collection was first published in 1609. He died in 1616, aged 52. James Anthony (Author) James Anthony was born in 1970, the son of an engineer from Peterborough, and has spent much of his adult life in London. He cut his teeth building cars for Ford Motor Company in Dagenham. This is James’s first published work of poetry. James Anthony is still seeking an aristocratic patron.

James Anthony

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