Everything Old is New Again, Part 1

If you like reading the classics, you may be interested in some of the new interpretations that have come out in the past few years. One publisher, Hogarth, has a series of Shakespeare tales retold by some of today’s most popular authors. Here is a sampling:

VINEGAR GIRL by Anne Tyler

Pulitzer Prize winning author Anne Tyler brings us a witty and irresistible modern take on Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. “A fizzy cocktail of a romantic comedy, far more sweet than acidic, about finding a mate who appreciates you for your idiosyncratic, principled self — no taming necessary.” —NPR.org 

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

HAG-SEED by Margaret Atwood

The author of THE HANDMAID’S TALE, Margaret Atwood, has written an enchanting reimagining of Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST. “A marvel of gorgeous yet economical prose, in the service of a story that’s utterly heartbreaking yet pierced by humor, with a plot that retains considerable subtlety even as the original’s back story falls neatly into place.” New York Times Book Review

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

THE GAP OF TIME by Jeanette Winterson

A retelling of Shakespeare’s THE WINTER’S TALE, “The Gap of Time takes the play’s themes of love, jealousy and estrangement and spins them into a taut contemporary tale.”—New York Times 

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

SHYLOCK IS MY NAME by Howard Jacobson

Jacobson’s retelling of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is “Sharply written, profoundly provocative.” The Huffington Post

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

DUNBAR by Edward St. Aubyn

St. Aubyn’s  DUNBAR is “A brilliant reworking of William Shakespeare’s King Lear for our day.”—Kirkus 

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

NEW BOY by Tracy Chevalier

A retelling of OTHELLO that “…is an engrossing and ultimately convincing story of its own, with characters you’ll believe in and a tragic ending worthy of the Bard.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If you would like more information, or would like to place a hold, click here.

Look for future additions to this series including Jo Nesbo’s take on MACBETH (April 2018), and Gillian Flynn’s take on HAMLET (2021) .

 

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