| An appealing retelling of one of Shakespeare's plays in story form. | | Orlando's brother, Oliver, treats him like dirt. Orlando wants the small inheritance their father left him, but Oliver vows to get rid of Orlando "without handing over a penny". He hopes Big Charles will break Orlando's neck in a wrestling match to be held at the court of Duke Frederick. But Orlando knocks Charles out cold. Frederick, who has taken the dukedom from his older brother, Duke Senior, finds out Orlando's father had been a trusted friend of his brother's - that made Orlando his enemy. Rosalind, the exiled Duke's daughter, and Orlando fall in love. Then Rosalind, disguised as a boy, flees from the court with her cousin Celia to escape Frederick. They got to the forest of Arden where Duke Senior lives in exile. And Orlando, who knows Oliver is planning to kill him, also flees to the forest. There are many twists and turns and complications in this story; eventually, everything is sorted out and the 'magical forest of Arden' is filled with music. | | Fun and quite easy to read. An illustrated cast list at the front of the book will help the reader remember who is exactly who. | | Fantastic colour and black and white illustrations from Chris Mould add hugely to the atmosphere. | | | This review by Pat Posner. | | The collection aims to make the best of Shakespearean theatre accessible to a younger audience whilst providing great stories to read. There's trouble afoot in the court of Duke Frederick. Feuding brother Orlando falls in love with the Duke's niece Rosalind, but she must leave the court with her cousin Celia to escape her tyrannical uncle. Orlando also flees from the Duke into the forest of Arden, but just to confuse things, Rosalind is disguised as the boy Gannymede and cannot claim his love. Will the magical forest put things right? |  Tell Mrs Mad what you think about this book! |
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