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Library | Material Type | Call Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... South | Juvenile Book | YA 822.33 ROSS S | 1 | Non-fiction Collection | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... West | Book | 822.33 ROS | 1 | Non-fiction Collection | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Historical finding and current critical thinking are woven together to tell the fascinating story of how Shakespeare conceived and wrote one of his greatest plays. As readers watch the production being mounted, Ross's narrative and Karpinski's carefully researched illustrations bring Shakespeare's world to vivid life. Full-color and black-and-white illustrations.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9A unique approach to theater history. Ross presents a quick view of Jacobean London, Shakespeare's life, the king's patronage and prejudices, the troupe of actors, and the physical layout of the Globe, and shows how these factors influenced the structure of the play. Readers are first set down in London, then introduced to the Globe during a performance of Hamlet. Afterwards, they move backstage to meet the actors. There is a bit of fictionalizingShakespeare talks to Burbage and the guys about his idea for a new play over wine at the Boar's Head Innbut the device contributes to the relaxed feel of the book. The story then moves to the historical background of Macbeth, explaining the changes the playwright made and his possible reasons. This seeming overload of material is skillfully packaged, with explanatory information carried in concise sidebars. The endpapers feature a sketch of London by Wenceslaus Hollar; internally, Karpinski's vibrant paintings are reminiscent of the Dutch masters' work in their rich colors and strong light, and create dramatic impact with their unusual perspectives. Ambrus's lively sketches achieve a shift of focus for an end segment representing a performance of the new play for King James. The perpetual grouse by Shakespeare buffs that a book can't give young people the true sense of a stage production is at least partly countered by this dynamic gem.Sally Margolis, Deerfield Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a successful blend of fact and fact-based fiction, Ross brings to life Shakespeare's London, going behind the scenes of the Globe Theatre to imagine the Bard's creation of Macbeth. Then Ross narrows the focus and takes the reader to a royal performance of the play before King James, building up the atmosphere and giving an impressively clear synopsis of the plot. Overall, the resulting book is intelligent and informative, and excells at introducing theater as a living art form. It does not attempt to condense or retell Macbeth; instead it takes the play as a centerpiece, expanding into a biography of Shakespeare and an overview of theater, politics and customs in 17th-century England. The text sometimes lacks immediacy (conversations are paraphrased; much is explained rather than shown), but the richness of the subject matter overcomes this flaw. Somber-hued, people-filled illustrations have the precision of photography and the look of the Dutch masters. They add authenticity and a sense of history, and they enhance the excitement of scenes of Macbeth in performance. Line drawings swirl around the borders of the play's synopsis, capturing the action contained within the words. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Foreword by Kenneth Branagh. Ross explores the creation and production of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. Based on known fact and extrapolations supported by historical evidence, the book is not only an engaging overview of seventeenth-century England but also a fine introduction to the life of Shakespeare and to theater as a vibrant art form. Illustrations in dark hues add drama to the text and call to mind the work of Dutch masters. Bib., ind. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this superb book, Ross (World Leaders, not reviewed) not only makes Macbeth live--he also makes the drama behind the play come alive as well. Aided by Karpinski and Ambrus's old master-style illustrations and kinetic sketches, Ross presents Shakespearean London, the Globe theater, and the royal palace at Hampton Court. He describes in surprising detail, though never tediously, the situation of the King's Men actors. Not only did they perform daily from a large repertoire of plays, they also had to handle drunken hecklers from the audience and were constantly in fear that the torches lighting the stage would ignite the wooden theater. (The Globe did eventually burn down in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII.) Ross also explains how Shakespeare conceived of and wrote Macbeth. The bard picked a Scottish theme to please the recently crowned James I, who was also King of Scotland; he combined two histories to create a moving tragedy, while at the same time clearing any of James's ancestors of wrongdoing; and he made the play short, because James had a limited attention span. Shakespeare continued to write Macbeth throughout rehearsals, and he gave each actor only his own part so that rival companies would not be able to get a complete copy of the play and steal it. The play was, of course, a huge success. A terrific job of making the vitality of Shakespeare accessible. (Index; chronology; bibliography and further reading; foreword by Kenneth Branagh) (Book-of-the-Month Club selection) (Nonfiction/Picture book. 10+)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. It's a perennial question: How do you make Shakespeare interesting to young people? Recent attempts have gone the historical route. Stanley and Vennema's Bard of Avon (1992) placed the playwright in the vividly rendered raucousness of Elizabethan England. Ross and Karpinski take the same tack but focus on the circumstances surrounding the composition and first performance of a single play, Macbeth. As does Bard of Avon, this book works because it's grounded in the ordinariness of daily life. We discover that the so-called immortal bard was driven mainly by commercial considerations: Macbeth, about a Scottish king, was written to appeal to King James, another Scottish king, in hopes that he would want it performed at court--the best gig going for a drama troupe in seventeenth-century England. Ross also shows how Shakespeare adapted his source material to appeal specifically to James and how the company set about rehearsing and staging the new play. Karpinski's illustrations, appropriately dark-hued in various shades of brown, red, and black, add texture, especially in the onstage pieces. Will kids read this for fun? No, but while they're using it as background material for reports, they might just be surprised to notice they're enjoying it. Also, high-schoolers studying Shakespeare may appreciate this picture-book approach. --Bill Ott