Orem Library

"King John of England is pitted against the united powers of France, Brittany, Austria and the Papacy. Will England be destroyed by his fatal indecision? As alliances are made, broken and remade, the paranoid and erratic John reveals his weakness and reliance on those around him, including his powerful mother Queen Elinor and Faulconbridge, the cynical and witty bastard son of the dead King Richard I."--container.

"The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard's right to the throne proves of little help to him"--Container.

Rebellion still simmers in England and King Henry's health is failing. Prince Hal has proved his courage but the king still fears that his son's pleasure-loving nature will bring the realm to ruin. Meanwhile Falstaff and his ribald companions waste the nights in revelry, anticipating the moment when Hal will ascend the throne.

"Young King Henry VI has married the beautiful Margaret of Anjou but the new Queen is ruthless and ambitious. Supported by the powerful Duke of Suffolk, Margaret plots the overthrow of her enemies, chief among them the Duke of Gloucester, Protector during Henry's infancy. But the Duke of York also aspires to the crown and the common people, led by Jack Cade, are in rebellion. To the despair of the mild young King, England descends into civil war."--Container....

The Yorkists have been temporarily victorious and the Duke of York has assumed the throne, but the Lancastrians, led by Queen Margaret, counter-attack. As the fortunes of war shift, both the innocent and the guilty are swept up in the maelstrom. And increasingly dominant amid the chaos is the sinister Þgure of the crook-backed Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

The text of the play about England's Richard III whose ascension to the throne was marked with murder and treachery, as well as criticism and discussion of Shakespeare's life and theater.