She Speaks! by Harriet Walter: 9781454959267 - Union Square & Co.

She Speaks!

What Shakespeare's Women Might Have Said

By Harriet Walter (Author)

Price$20.00

Pub Date 10/22/2024

ISBN 9781454959267

Format Hardcover

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She Speaks!

What Shakespeare's Women Might Have Said

by Harriet Walter
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OVERVIEW
Harriet Walter, one of Britain's most esteemed Shakespearean actors, has played most of Shakespeare's women. She Speaks! is her inventive reimagining of what these women might have said, and the result is a rewarding, fun interpretation of these classic plays, perfect for contemporary audiences and fans of feminist retellings.

Prefaced by Walter's notes and guides to her eye-opening, occasionally laugh-out-loud takes, these pages give us a taste of what Gertrude longed to say about her husband (Hamlet); why Lady Macbeth felt she deserved to be Queen (Macbeth); what Juliet's nurse felt after Juliet's death (Romeo & Juliet); and how Olivia's crush causes her to question her sexuality (Twelfth Night).
PRAISE

“An extraordinary book…In spiky Shakespearean verse, She Speaks! brilliantly creates secret lives and new monologues for 30 of Shakespeare’s women…Distillation with a depth charge. On the page as on the stage, there is no slack” The Guardian

She Speaks!
—bold and original—is many rewarding books in one. In these pages one of the great actors of our age asks: ‘What were Ophelia, Rosalind, Cleopatra and Shakespeare’s other women characters really thinking?’  Drawing on her own rich performance history, Harriet Walter gives them voice in Shakespearean pentameter verse, and what they have to say is both witty and profound.  I was dazzled many years ago when I saw her play Ophelia at the Royal Court, and continue to be dazzled by her brilliance and hard-won insights into the plays. It’s a book that anyone who cares about Shakespeare will want to own, and share. —James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

If you liked Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife -- you will love this incisive, funny, mischievously subversive homage to Shakespeare’s heroines, written by one of mine." —Meera Syal

“With her characteristic wit, playfulness and fierce intelligence, Harriet Walter gives tantalizing voice to the bard’s female greats. Her extensive experience, passionate advocacy and vibrant imagination make this collection a must-read.”—Tamsin Greig

"An invaluable book for actors and enthusiasts alike. If like me you have struggled with Shakespeare’s representation of female characters Walters crystal clear analysis will restore your faith. She unpicks and re-centers their inner life and journey as only one of our most talented and celebrated classical actors could. A must read!"—Maxine Peake
 
"Did Lady Macbeth instruct the weird sisters what to tell her husband? What happened when Cleopatra was reunited with Mark Antony in Heaven? And what did Hermione really do shut away for those sixteen years? Harriet Walter’s years of inhabiting and imbibing so many of those great roles gives her a special licence to speak for them. But the wit of these delightful poems also belies frustration, exasperation, and like a true “Lover’s Complaint”, real affection."—Greg Doran, former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company
 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Dame Harriet May Walter DBE is one of Britain's most esteemed Shakespearean actors, and the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award. Walter is also well-known for her appearances in "Sense and Sensibility," "Atonement," "Downton Abbey," "The Crown," "Succession," "Killing Eve," "Ted Lasso," among many others. In 2011, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama.

Title Details

Pages 224 pages, 10 b-w illus.

Trim 5 x 7 x 0 Inches

Territories US Only

Category Fiction

Carton Quantity 32