The third play of Shakespeare's 'First Tetralogy,' this "Part III" is widely regarded as the best of the three works on Henry VI. The Bard's skill in producing scenes of moving drama is readily apparent, for Queen Margaret journeys to France in search of military aid after King Henry brokers a deal with his enemy Richard, Duke of York, for physical protection. Many bloody and heart-rending battles take place in this play as the War of the Roses reaches...

The second play in William Shakespeare's tetralogy of plays which also includes "Richard II", "Henry IV, Part 2", and "Henry V", "Henry IV, Part 1" is believed to have been written no later than 1597. A history play, the drama concerns the unquiet reign of Henry Bolingbroke. Following the usurpation of the throne, Henry IV is plagued with guilt over his role in the imprisonment and death of King Richard II. In order to resolve himself of this internal...

Shakespeare's riveting, epic drama of a family in crisis, and a country on the brink of civil war. Wracked by illness and tormented by guilt, King Henry IV fears for England's future after his death. The heir to the throne, Prince Hal, seems intent only on a life of debauchery in the company of the dissolute – but hilarious – Sir John Falstaff. As war looms and the stakes increase, father and son struggle to face their destinies – and each...

Kathleen Bryan returns with the sequel to The Serpent and the Rose. Beautiful Averil is now the Duchess of Quitaine, but to keep her people safe, she made a vow to the traitor King of Lys. After a year, she would come to his Court in Lutece, and choose a husband from the men he offers her. Averil must produce an heir – not only to Quitaine, but also to all of Lys; for she is the only daughter of the King's sister, and he has no wife or child of...

Memorable historical drama concerns rebellion against King Henry led by Harry Percy ("Hotspur") and other nobles, complicated by the king's difficulties with his wayward son, Prince Hal. Superb blend of courtly intrigue, battlefield action, and low comedy featuring Sir John Falstaff, all expressed in fine blank verse and stirring prose.

William Shakespeare's Henry V is the historical English drama of its title character. King Henry V ascends to the throne of England following the death of his father at the beginning of the play. The King soon makes a claim to parts of France based on some distant ancestral ties. When Dauphin, prince of France responds insultingly to Henry's claim, King Henry V orders England to invade France and the two nations soon find themselves at war.

The second play in Shakespeare's 'First Tetralogy,' this work continues the fictionalized account of King Henry VI's reign. It commences with the marriage of Henry VI with the French noblewoman Margaret of Anjou, whose influence in court is challenged by Duke Humphrey, the King's Protector. There is a large amount of aristocratic subversion in this play, in which the good Duke Humphrey is fatally ensnared. Richard, the Duke of York, emerges with a...

Believed to have been written in 1591, William Shakespeare's "Richard III" is one of the bards first plays, the first installment in a tetralogy of plays which includes "Henry IV, Part I," "Henry IV, Part II," and "Henry V." One of the longest of Shakespeare's plays and consequently rarely performed unabridged, "Richard III" is the story of the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. The play begins with...

After thwarting a rebellion that threatened his throne, King Henry IV's attention is now more directly focused on his son and heir, Prince Hal. Hal is still distanced from the court, spending his time in frivolous ways, while his former companion, Falstaff, finds nothing but trouble in the London underworld. But as Hal witnesses his father's declining health, he must begin to take his responsibility to the throne more seriously. Henry IV, Part II...

Spanning approximately fifty years beginning with the coronation of the king upon the death of Henry V and concluding with the fall of the House of Lancaster, William Shakespeare's Henry VI trilogy reveals the king's struggles under the pressures of prolonged wars with his foreign territories in France and Ireland, and the civil war that threatens his reign. Henry VI, Part I opens with a monarchy in chaos following the unexpected death of Henry V....