Charles Lamb (1) (1775–1834)

Well this is one way to end a relatively fruitful Shakespeare catch-up month… It started off strong with Hamnet, kept going decently with Titus Andronicus (even though it’s ridiculous, it is source material, so it can stay), and even though there were a few DNFs to cross off the reading list I was still in a hopeful mood when I cracked the spine on this book. Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare, specifically the Arthur Rackham illustrated edition, was high on my thrift hunting list so I was pretty excited when I finally scooped a copy a little bit ago and was waiting for the perfect time to delve into their “classic” adapted tales for children. Unfortunately almost from the get go I was disgusted with their interpretation of Shakespeare’s stories… Sure, some of the premise and characters were there, but gone was the Shakespearean subtlety, wit, and drama and instead we’re left with infantilized moral tales unsuitable for any but the most vapid child. Starting off were two potentially strong tales, that even with the ribaldry taken out had plenty of room for highjinx and entertainment - the Tempest and a Midsummer Night’s Dream - but the stories were told in such a drab manner that all of the sparkle of magic was completely taken away. After that point I focused entirely on enjoying Rackham’s illustrations, so as not to ruin any beloved stories or spoil the ones I haven’t gotten to yet. This specific edition didn’t have the best versions of his colour work, being a Book of the Month club publication, and their placement was a bit arbitrary, but the simple line work for story headers and enders was well-reproduced and the paper quality was surprisingly lush. With a smidge more effort on the part of the colour reproductions (and a replacement of the atrocious travesty of text) this book actually would have been a solid example of an illustrated classic, as its size and weight was just about perfect for reading and it’s a great size to sit displayed on a shelf!… (more)