The second Oxford edition of Shakespeares Complete Works reconsiders every detail of their text & presentation in the light of modern scholarship. The nature & authority of the early documents are re-examined & the canon & chronological order of composition freshly established. Spelling & punctuation are modernized & there is a brief introduction to each work as well as an illuminating & informative General Introduction. Included here for the first time is the play The Reign of King Edward the Third as well as the full text of Sir Thomas More. This new edition also features an essay on Shakespeares language by David Crystal & a bibliography of foundational works. ...

The extraordinary life of Englands greatest dramatist is told in fascinating detail from his rural beginnings in Stratford-on-Avon where he was born in 1564 to his phenomenal success in London where he became a favourite at the glorious court of Queen Elizabeth. The narrative describes how plays were beginning to become the popular entertainment form of the day how theatres were built & who went to them. All Elizabethan life is there & the book gives the reader not only a complete background on the life of Shakespeare but also a vivid picture of late sixteenth-century life. ...

You've probably heard of William Shakespeare. He is dead famous for:
- writing a few plays
- having a bit of a way with words
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May the verse be with you! Inspired by one of the greatest creative minds in the English language
- & William Shakespeare
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A new biography of the Norman king who conquered England in 1066 changing the course of the country forever. Of Franco-Scandinavian descent through his father Duke Robert the Magnificent William the Conquerors life is set against his true background the turbulent Norman Duchy which even after the Conquest of England remained his primary concern. William is revealed as the brutal & violent product of his time much given to outbursts of rage capable of great cruelty autocratic avaricious & prone to a sort of grisly humour yet with all that he could also be a loyal friend & affectionate husband & father. His military reputation rests mainly on his victory at Hastings & he showed little sign of strategic or tactical genius. He was a competent rather than inspired general benefiting from the mistakes & disunity of his foes. Only at Hastings did he meet & defeat a man who was his peer as a leader of men. He inspired great loyalty in some & even greater hatred in others. His primary attribute was his ruthless will which made him the driving force behind Norman ambition in North Western Europe. His propagandists shamelessly manipulated the facts to justify his conquest of England a dubious enterprise if ever there was one. ...

I din take it William said. Ethel took it. She
- she sort of cant help herself. I always he added virtuously tryn put back the
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Sir William Wallace of Ellerslie now the subject of a major film is one of historys greatest heroes & one of its greatest enigmas
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By no means prepared by birth education or training for leadership Wallace nevertheless rose to prominence during the Wars of Independence leading forces which broke the sequence of English victories & re-energising & inspiring his countrymen in the process. While others ostensibly his betters yielded & collaborated Wallace set an example of constancy & perseverance & became the Guardian of Scotl&. Even his terrible death in London in 1305 can be seen as a victory as it provided inspiration for the continuance of the struggle against English domination. Despite Wallaces almost mythical status
- boosted in no small part by the film Braveheart
- present-day perceptions of him are no always based on the objective analysis of the historical facts. In this revised & expanded biography Andrew Fisher investigates all the aspects of Wallaces life & character treating him as a man of his time. The result is a more authentic picture of the greatest of Scotlands heroes than has been previously available.

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William Wallace & All That" is a real-life adventure packed with historical facts about Scotlands legendary hero. Join Sir William Wallace on his fearsome quest to free the Scots from villainous King Edward & his evil empire. Growl with anger as you find out what nasty things Edwards vile henchmen did to Wallaces girlfriend & best pal. Get splattered with blood & gore as Wallace makes haggis of his enemies. Gasp with terror as you learn about the giant hedgehogs that helped Wallace win battles. Groan with agony as you feel what its like to be hanged drawn & quartered. Discover how Wallaces grisly death made his legend grow. Bursting with brilliant illustrations this book will have you shouting " Freedom!" after every page!" ...

William Hague has written the life of William Wilberforce who was both a staunch conservative & a tireless campaigner against the slave trade. Hague shows how Wilberforce after his agonising conversion to evangelical Christianity was able to lead a powerful tide of opinion as MP for Hull against the slave trade a process which was to take up to half a century to be fully realised. Indeed he succeeded in rallying to his cause the support in the Commons Debates of some the finest orators in Parliament having become one of the most respected speakers of those times. Hague examines twenty three crucial years in British political life during which Wilberforce met characters as varied as Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette Tsar Alexander of Russia & the one year old future Queen Victoria who used to play at his feet. He was friend & confidant of Pitt Spencer Perceval & George Canning. He saw these figures raised up or destroyed in twenty three years of war & revolution. Hague presents us with a man who teemed with contradictions: he took up a long list of humanitarian causes yet on his home turf would show himself to be a firm supporter of the instincts interests & conservatism of the Yorkshire freeholders who sent him to Parliament. William Hague's masterful study of this remarkable & pivotal figure in British politics brings to life the great triumphs & shattering disappointments he experienced in his campaign against the slave trade & shows how immense economic social & political forces came to join together under the tireless persistence of this unique man. ...