HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Bear you well in this new spring of time, Lest you be cropp'd before you come to prime.' King Richard II rules England in a wasteful and short-sighted way, spending money unwisely and selecting his counselors foolishly. His manner ostracises him from his people and his country and it's t long before both commone…
When Claudio breaks the new laws against vice in Vienna by getting his financee, Julietta, pregnant, a series of ethical issues is brought under scrutiny. His sister's virtue is held to ransom by the deputy rule of the city until justice is done, mercy shown, and order restored. This is among Shakespeare's most vivid dramatic projections of moral duplicity. The introduction discusses the origin…