Henry VIII

Whether your introduction to King Henry VIII was courtesy of Herman's Hermits ("I am 'enery the Eighth, I am, I am") or PBS's Masterpiece Theater (The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth), it seems that his history is the best known among the Kings of Shakespeare.

Playlist, Six Wives of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon

For the Shakespeare Readers attending the December 11 reading at American University library, if you haven't already purchased a copy of the text, there are plenty of online resources. Your best bet would be to download a free copy to your Kindle from Project Gutenberg, or just read it online.

Truth in Shakespeare: The authorship of this late play is believed (by Wikipedia, among others) to be shared with John Fletcher (who apparently was not Anonymous). Among other deviations, the script of the Shakespeare-Fletcher Henry VIII contains significantly more stage directions than any solo work by the fair bard.

What Fletcher really wanted to do, it seems, was direct.

In Bard We Trust,

Cindy

Shakespeare Readers 2011-2012 Schedule

A Note about Henry VIII

We do have a rarely read history play on the schedule, Henry VIII, which is believed to be only partially written by Shakespeare. I chose it because the story is well known and I am interested in seeing Shakespeare (et al.)'s treatment of it.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find copies of it at my local Barnes & Noble, so I'm afraid its lack of availability may deter Readers from attending the scheduled event (December 11).

So, if you think you would like to read this with us (please!!), consider ordering a copy now from Amazon.

Of course, it would be included in any Complete Works edition, as well as digitally from sites such as Online Literature.

So, be prepared to use your voice!

In Bard We Trust,
Cindy