Shakespeare Revisited
Explore a curated list of books that reimagine Shakespeare's timeless works. Discover modern retellings, adaptations, and fresh perspectives on the Bard's classics for today's readers.
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Gertrude and Claudius
by John Updike
Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the Danish throne; she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince. “I hoped to keep the texture light,” Updike said of this novel, “to move from the mists of Scandinavian legend into the daylight atmosphere of the Globe. I sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.”
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Thirteenth Night
by Alan R. Gordon
Fifteen years after the events in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste returns to Illyria to investigate the death of Duke Orsino.
