Spanish Peaks Library District

"When an old and jaded king sets out to divide his realm among his three daughters, demanding proof of their devotion in words, he instead divides his family. So begins a bitter struggle that eats away at the kingdom-- and the old man's sanity-- in this timeless tale of pride and defiance" -- from dust jacket flap.

Six celebrated hosts to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare's greatest plays, revealing not just the elements in the play, but the history of the play itself. What sparked the creation of each of these works? Where did Shakespeare get his plots, and what cultural, political and religious factors influenced his writing? Why has this body of work endured so thoroughly? What, in the end, makes Shakespeare so great?

Hamlet: In this reframed version of Shakespeare's play, young Hamlet is a prince from an unnamed African state who has the world at his feet, young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home, he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainities smashed, and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order, he faces a stark choice, submit, or...

Twelve true accounts of slaves who escaped to freedom from slavery in the American South before the Civil War.