Shakespeare's English Kings : History, Chronicle, and Drama

Far more than any professional historian, Shakespeare is responsible for whatever notions most of us possess about English medieval history. Anyone who appreciates the dramatic action of Shakespeare's history plays but is confused by much of the historical detail will welcome this guide to the Richards, Edwards, Henrys, Warwicks and Norfolks who ruled and fought across Shakespeare's page and stage. Not only theater-goers and students, but today's film-goers who want to enrich their understanding of film adaptations of plays such as Richard III and Henry V will find this revised edition of Shakespeare's English Kings to be an essential companion. Saccio's engaging narrative weaves together three threads: medieval English history according to the Tudor chroniclers who provided Shakespeare with his material, that history as understood by modern scholars, and the action of the plays themselves. Including a new preface, a revised further reading list, genealogical charts, an appendix of names and titles, and an index, the second edition of Shakespeare's English Kings offers excellent background reading for all of the ten history plays. This study skillfully weaves together history according to the Tudor chroniclers who provided Shakespeare with his material. Far more than any professional historian, Shakespeare is responsible for whatever notions most of us possess about English medieval history. Anyone who appreciates the dramatic action of Shakespeare's history plays but is confused by much of the historical detail will welcome this guide to the Richards, Edwards, Henrys, Warwicks and Norfolks who ruled and fought across Shakespeare's page and stage. Not only theater-goers and students, but today's film-goers who want to enrich their understanding of film adaptations of plays such as Richard III and Henry V will find Shakespeare's English Kings to be an essential companion.Saccio's engaging narrative weaves together three threads: medieval English history according to the Tudor chroniclers who provided Shakespeare with his material, that history as understood by modern scholars, and the action of the plays themselves. The second edition of Shakespeare's English Kings includes a new preface, a revised further reading list, genealogical charts, an appendix of names and titles, and an index. This book recounts English history during the reigns of eight Plantagenet kings and one Tudor. That is, it concerns the people and events that Shakespeare put on stage in his ten history plays. [The author] has written with an eye on the differences between medieval history as we now understand it and Shakespeare's version of that history. [He] hopes that the book will be useful to students of Shakespeare, theatergoers, and general readers interested in these kings and these plays.-p. ix Peter Saccio. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 257-273) And Index.