Audiobooks Narrated by Sir Anthony Quayle

The Merry Wives of Windsor

"The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. The Merry Wives of Windsor features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life. It has been adapted for the opera on occasions. The play anachronistically places Sir John Falstaff, who had previously appeared in Shakespeare's plays about the medieval King Henry IV and set circa 1400, in the contemporary setting of the Elizabethan era, circa 1600."

William Shakespeare (Author), Sir Anthony Quayle (Narrator)

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Antony and Cleopatra

"Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. READ BY SIR ANTHONY QUAYLE AND CAST Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumviri and the future first emperor of Rome. The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by swift, panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers, alternating between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and the more pragmatic, austere Rome. Many consider the role of Cleopatra in this play one of the most complex female roles in Shakespeare's work. She is frequently vain and histrionic, provoking an audience almost to scorn; at the same time, Shakespeare's efforts invest both her and Antony with tragic grandeur. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses"

William Shakespeare (Author), Sir Anthony Quayle (Narrator)

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Henry IV (Part Two)

"Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V. GOD KNOWS, MY SON, BY WHAT BY-PATHS AND INDIRECT CROOK'D WAYS I MET THIS CROWN; AND I MYSELF KNOW WELL HOW TROUBLESOME IT SAT UPON MY HEAD. TO THEE, IT SHALL DESCEND WITH BETTER QUIET, BETTER OPINION, BETTER CONFIRMATION… Following his victory at the battle of Shrewsbury that ended Part 1, King Henry now finds that he must deal with a rebellion by Scroop, Hastings and Mowbray. They are eventually tricked into disbanding their army and are sentenced to death. Henry is finally secure on the throne, but it has come too late: he is dying. The play ends with the accession of his son, Prince Hal, as Henry V. The new king immediately reforms, renouncing his dissolute lifestyle; and when his former companion Sir John Falstaff hastens to London in the belief that the new king will show him favour he is cruelly disillusioned. Harry Andrews, Richard Johnson and Sir Anthony Quayle lead a distinguished cast in this powerful production."

William Shakespeare (Author), Ronnie Barker, Sir Anthony Quayle (Narrator)

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Macbeth

"Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1606. This is a classic audiobook recording read by Sir Anthony Quayle, Robert Hardy and other cast members. Promised a golden future as ruler of Scotland by three sinister witches, Macbeth murders the king to ensure his ambitions come true. But he soon learns the meaning of terror – killing once, he must kill again and again, and the dead return to haunt him. A story of war, witchcraft and bloodshed, Macbeth also depicts the relationship between husbands and wives, and the risks they are prepared to take to achieve their desires."

William Shakespeare (Author), Robert Hardy, Sir Anthony Quayle (Narrator)

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