Cease I say, cantankerous old fools /
Thy deeds hath made our streets a no go zone /
No more shall Montagues and Capulets /
Enact their West Side Story Sharks and Jets /
Or else shall pay the forfeit of the peace.To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, this is the second of a new collection of the Bard's greatest plays, digested to a few thousand words with invaluable footnotes from John Sutherland. Funny and incredibly clever, these parodies are a joy for those who know their Shakespeare, perfect for the theatre goer needing a quick recap, and a massive relief for those just desperate to pass their English exam.

John Crace, creator of the Guardian's 'Digested Read' column, parodies the world's favourite story of doomed love in a brilliantly funny reduced form, with Professor John Sutherland providing footnotes

About the Author
John Crace (Author)
John Crace is the Guardian's parliamentary sketch writer and author of the 'Digested Read' columns and he writes regularly for Grazia. He is the author of I Never Promised you a Rose Garden: A short guide to modern politics, the coalition and the general election and also Baby Alarm: A Neurotic's Guide to Fatherhood, Vertigo: One Football Fan's Fear of Success , Harry's Games: Inside the Mind of Harry Redknapp, Brideshead Abbreviated: the Digested Read of the Twentieth Century and The Digested Twenty-first Century. He lives in London.

John Sutherland (Author)
John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English Literature at University College London and previously taught at the California Institute of Technology. He writes regularly for the Guardian, The Times and the New York Times, and is the author of many books including Curiosities of Literature, Is Henry V a War Criminal? (with Cedric Watts), biographies of Walter Scott, Stephen Spender and the Victorian elephant Jumbo, and The Boy Who Loved Books, a memoir.



Reviews
The wonderful John Crace collaborating with UCL's John Sutherland for parodic and truncated retellings of Shakespeare's great plays. * Times Higher Education Supplement *
Better by far.. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *
What finer way to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death than a series of witty modern reworkings...Shakespeare reduced to 100 pages of pithy pentameter with smart side notes. * Evening Standard *
Witty, fresh takes on Shakespeare * The Times *
A very pleasant way to read Shakespeare. * nudge.com *



Book Information
ISBN 9780857524256
Author John Crace
Format Hardback
Page Count 144
Imprint Doubleday
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 177g
Dimensions(mm) 184mm * 119mm * 18mm