The ageing King Lear, tired of office, decides to split his kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia; but the decision to allot their share based on the love they express for him proves to be a terrible mistake. When Cordelia refuses to take part in her father's charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her manipulative and untrustworthy sisters. In the scheming and recriminations that follow, not only does the king's own sanity crumble, but the stability of the realm itself is also threatened. Cast out into the wilderness with a wise Fool and a cunning madman, it is only after losing what he values most that Lear understands the depth of his folly.

Focusing on several film versions and adaptations, the book discusses King Lear in its historical context, key themes and dominant readings of the text, how the text is adapted for screen and how adaptations have changed our reading of the original text.

This title traces Shakespeare's life and work from the autumn of 1605, when the author came upon an old and anonymous play - 'The True Chronicle History of King Leir' - in one of the bookstalls near his Silver Street lodgings. From there, the author traces the story's transformation into 'King Lear' as we know it - and then to 'Macbeth', written in 1606.

This title traces Shakespeare's life and work from the autumn of 1605, when the author came upon an old and anonymous play - 'The True Chronicle History of King Leir' - in one of the bookstalls near his Silver Street lodgings. From there, the author traces the story's transformation into 'King Lear' as we know it - and then to 'Macbeth', written in 1606.

Foolish and bad-tempered, King Lear divides the kingdom between his two wicked daughters, disowns his honest youngest daughter and banishes his friends. As the kingdom falls apart and Lear's humiliation turns him mad, will he finally realise what he has done?