Other editions of book All's Well That Ends Well

All's Well that Ends Well receives, in this new edition, the full reconsideration for which it is overdue. After a long theatrical and critical history marked by avoidance and simplification, the play's dislocations of desire and clashing ideologies of class and gender are made newly accessible to readers, performers, and audiences. All's Well that Ends Well found little favor in the infrequent productions of earlier centuries, and was drastically reshaped by Garrick toward farce and by Kemble toward purity and pathos. But artists of recent decades such as Guthrie, Moshinsky, and Nunn have used the very discords of style and genre once seen as defects as sources of theatrical power and complexity, just as critics from various perspectives--feminist, sociological, generic, psychological--have found new value and pertinence in a play that is itself a deconstructed fairy tale. Susan Snyder's Introduction makes a distinguished contribution to criticism of the play, and the edition, offering freshly considered text, is fully and helpfully annotated.

Helena, the orphan daughter of a famous physician, is the ward of the Countess of Rousillon, and hopelessly in love with her son, Count Bertram, who has been sent to the court of the King of France. Despite her beauty and worth, Helena has no hope of attracting Bertram, since she is of low birth and he is a nobleman. However, when word comes that the King is ill, she goes to Paris and, using her father's arts, cures the illness. In return, she is given the hand of any man in the realm; she chooses Bertram. Her new husband is appalled at the match, however, and shortly after their marriage flees France, accompanied only by a scoundrel named Parolles, to fight in the army of the Duke of Florence. Helena is sent home to the Countess, and receives a letter from Bertram informing her that he will never be her true spouse unless she can get his family ring from his finger, and become pregnant with his child--neither of which, he declares, will ever come to pass. The Countess, who loves Helena and approves of the match, tries to comfort her, but the distraught young woman departs Rousillon, planning to make a religious pilgrimage.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

An international team of scholars offers: • modernised, easily accessible texts • ample but unobtrusive academic guidance • attention to the theatrical qualities of each play and its stage history • informative illustrations, including reconstructions of early performances This play has attracted unprecedented interest in recent times. Professor Fraser takes account of its history, in which neglect and unpopularity have been important features, and discusses such reactions and the reasons for them. He argues for a play which is a powerful and often disconcerting blend of darkness and comedy, faults and virtues, failing and forgiveness. Beneath the fluctuating imagery there is a constant sexual undercurrent which compels unusual critical attention.

Shakespeare, William. All's Well That Ends Well. Edited by G.K. Hunter. Third Edition. London, Methuen, 1959. 23 cm. LIX, 152 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket in protective collector's mylar. Unusually excellent condition with only very minor signs of external wear. [Arden Shakespeare]. The Arden Shakespeare is the established edition of Shakespeare's work. Justly celebrated for its authoritative scholarship and invaluable commentary, Arden guides you a richer understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare's plays.This edition of All's Well That Ends Well provides a clear and authoritative text, detailed notes and commentary on the same page as the text, a full introduction discussing the critical and historical background to the play and appendices presenting sources and relevant extracts. (Amazon)

Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well is the story of its heroine, Helen, more so than the story of Bertram, for whose love she yearns. Helen wins Bertram as her husband despite his lack of interest and higher social standing, but she finds little happiness in the victory as he shuns, deserts, and attempts to betray her. The play suggests some sympathy for Bertram. As a ward to the French king, he must remain at court while his friends go off to war and glory. When Helen cures the King, he makes Bertram available to her. To exert any control over his life, Bertram goes to war in Italy. Helen then takes the initiative in furthering their marriage, undertaking an arduous journey and a daring trick. Few today, however, see a fairy-tale ending.