William Shakespeare

The most influential writer in all of English literature, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 to a -successful middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Shakespeare attended grammar school, but his formal education proceeded no further. In 1582 he married an older woman, Anne Hathaway, and had three children with her. Around 1590 he left his family behind and traveled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Public and critical success quickly followed, and Shakespeare eventually became the most popular playwright in England and part-owner of the Globe Theate.
Author of King Lear…
Read more at Sparknotes.

Audio books are the new way to learn. Listen to this Shakespearian play unfold in this three hour full cast audio book production of Othello.

This audio book dramatizes the second in Shakespeare’s great tragedies, Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear being the other three.
Summary of Othello: It’s a story of love, treachery and jealousy, set in Venice and written c.1603/1604.
The Main Characters.
Othello, a general in the Venetian army, is read by Hugh Quarshie (of Star Wars fame). He is an associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has made many appearances in film and TV productions. At the time of writing he is starring as Ric in the TV hospital drama Holby City.
The scheming Iago, a soldier in the Venetian army, is read by Anton Lesser, a well known stage actor who is also an associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has appeared in many stage productions, films and TV plays. He is a well known narrator of audio books and has won awards for his story telling skills, especially Charles Dickens novels.
The unfortunate Desdemona is played by Emma Fielding, an award winning British actress. She has starred in many radio plays, films and TV productions, the most recent being Cranford, a BBC TV mini series. She is also a talented audio book narrator and has participated in the following productions: Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, and Henry James’s  The Turn of the Screw.