Shakespeare's Queens (of England)

About the Book

Shakespeare's Queens (of England) looks at how William Shakespeare documented the lives of a number of England's Queens in his history plays - from the cycle of Richard II through to Richard III together with the lesser known King John and King Henry VIII. The Queens detailed within the book are Eleanor of Aquitaine (wife of King Henry II), Isabel (second wife of King Richard II), Katherine de Valois (wife of King Henry V), Margaret of Anjou (wife of King Henry VI), Elizabeth Woodville (wife of King Edward IV), Anne Neville (wife of King Richard III) and Katherine of Aragon (first wife of King Henry VIII). Shakespeare's Queens (of England) aims to discover just how close to historical truth Shakespeare was when writing about England's Queens in his history plays and how much dramatic licence he employed with this in-depth look at the appropriate plays. Biographies of each of the queens concerned are also included together with notes on past Shakespearean productions. Contemporary sources together with modern literary criticism have been drawn upon to investigate the fact behind the drama. This book should appeal to both students and the general reader alike whether they are interested in Shakespeare, literature or history.

About the Author

Kate Parrott, B.A.Hons (Open), was born and has lived in the Thames Valley all of her life. Completing her degree with The Open University, coupled with her passion for Shakespeare, encouraged her to write this book. She was the voluntary Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly journal of The Open University Shakespeare Society, A Groatsworth of Wit and still regularly contributes to the publication. Shakespeare's Queens (of England) is her first published book and she is already busy working on the next one!